The Conservatives followed through on their threat to force Liberal MPs to vote through the night in an attempt to get the government to disclose the cost of its carbon tax plans.
Voting on the government’s main spending plan was continuing as of 3 a.m. Friday morning, with Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer saying his party members were “not leaving until we get the truth” about how much the proposed $50-per-tonne carbon price will cost Canadian families.
“He’s failed to be honest with Canadians about what this will cost your family. And instead of just telling Canadians how much his carbon tax will cost them, Justin Trudeau is keeping everyone here tonight,” Scheer said on his Facebook page. “But we’re not leaving until we get the truth.”
READ MORE: Conservatives set to force all-night voting over Liberal refusal to reveal carbon tax cost
Pierre Poilievre, the party’s finance critic, announced the pending filibuster on Thursday as he rose to speak on an opposition motion submitted by him that asked the government to table the cost of its proposed carbon tax by June 22, which is the day the House of Commons is scheduled to rise for summer holidays.
For weeks, Poilievre and the Conservatives have demanded the government disclose its estimates on how much that plan will end up costing Canadians in terms of increased costs for goods and services.
But so far, the government has refused.
WATCH BELOW: Conservatives ask Trudeau how much his carbon tax will cost the average Canadian family
It’s the second time in less than three months the Conservatives have used an all-nighter to make a political point. In March, they forced a 21-hour filibuster in a bid to force the government to agree to allow national security adviser Daniel Jean to testify at committee about Prime Minister Trudeau’s trip to India.
Ultimately, the Conservatives won that battle because about two weeks after that voting marathon, the government agreed Jean could testify at the committee about non-classified information. He did so on April 16.
READ MORE: MPs pull all-nighter after Conservatives force filibuster over Atwal affair
However, they’re not likely to win the carbon price battle. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said the government has already released its cost analysis, pointing to a report released in April that said its plan could cut emissions by up to 90 million tonnes a year by the time the carbon price hits $50 a tonne in 2022, at a cost to the economy of about $2 billion. That is equivalent to less than 0.1 per cent of the gross domestic product.
— With files from Amanda Connolly and The Canadian Press
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