The Liberal premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI — and even New Brunswick — each asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for more carbon tax carve outs for their provinces this week.Even though their provinces requested — and received — reprieve on its home heating bills last fall in the form of an exemption on home heating oil, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey and PEI boss Dennis King are both begging Ottawa to consider delaying the proposed April 1 increase to $80 per tonne..But neither Furey nor King are facing the prospect of going to jail, unlike Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe who is facing “consequences” from Liberal cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Steven Guilbeault for refusing to remit federal carbon taxes on home heating. .In an almost Dickensian letter to the PM, Furey on Monday begged for more 'soup' from the PM on the grounds that his province “is deeply invested in environmental sustainability” and has lowered its greenhouse gas emissions to the lowest since 1992. He also touted progress in convincing residents to switch to heat pumps and claimed the province has anted up nearly $25 million in rebates to date with another $25 million pending.“We are highly committed to the social and economic well-being of our people. We are prioritizing the needs of individuals facing financial hardships and working towards solutions that alleviate their burdens wherever possible,” he pleaded. “I respectfully request that you consider pausing the implementation of the April 1st carbon tax increase, at least until inflation stabilizes, interest rates lower and related economic pressures on the cost of living sufficiently cool.”.It comes days after PEI Premier Dennis King — who is also a Liberal — wrote in his own missive to the PM that the 23% increase next month would hurt ‘Islanders’ by adding 3.5 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline and bringing the total to 23 cents.Despite a home-heating carve out of his own, he called the tax “punitive and unfair” and said it would “create an untenable situation” for his constituents.“As an island province we are in a unique position,” he said. “With most goods arriving by diesel trucks, adding to the cost of gas and diesel continually drives up the costs to goods, services and food for islanders.”.But neither Furey nor King are facing the prospect of going to jail, unlike Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe who is facing “consequences” from Liberal Cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Steven Guilbeault for refusing to remit federal carbon taxes on home heating. He’s consistently demanded equal treatment as received by Maritimers for people who heat their homes with natural gas.Perhaps with a tinge of jest, he tweeted a one-word reply of his own to Furey’s plea: “Agreed.”Yet somehow, Conservative politicians interpreted a Liberal premier with cap in hand as ‘demanding’ relief — as Pierre Poilievre did in a post on Twitter (“X”) where he urged Canadians to sign a petition urging Ottawa to ‘axe the tax’ altogether..That said, New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs — who is Conservative — joined in the chorus of Atlantic premiers although he was more forceful in his condemnation. He didn’t beg.“Since imposing his carbon tax six years ago, New Brunswickers have been subject to brutal increases every single year. These make the cost of everyday items such as food, fuel and groceries more expensive, driving up the cost of living for everyone,” he said.“Even if he won’t cancel the tax outright, he can stop his plan to impose even more harm on New Brunswickers and Canadians by halting the planned tax increase.”
