What’s in a name?Apparently everything when it comes to the Liberal government’s carbon tax refunds that went into the mail starting on Monday.But for those signed up for direct deposits, the federal government is pressuring banks to adopt its preferred name for the handouts — the ‘Canada Carbon Rebate’ — on statements instead of the earlier ‘climate action incentive payments’.According to the Toronto Star the government wants banks to re-label the quarterly stipends as ‘CDACarbonRebate’ in English, and the more localized ‘CarboneRemiseCA’ in French. .“They aren’t willing to make these changes at all.”Unnamed government official.It’s part of the Trudeau government’s rebranding of the unpopular tax into something more palatable for Canadians eligible to receive them. Senior cabinet ministers, including the prime minister, have complained the old name is confusing and doesn’t play into its narrative that the vast majority of Canadians get more back than they pay. But according to the Star at least one major Canadian bank is refusing to play along, citing an anonymous senior government official who said some unnamed financial institutions “are being less than helpful” in making the change..A Leger poll in March showed 69% opposed to the most recent increase of $15 per tonne on April 1..That’s because some institutions have technical limits on character counts and bilingual requirements. But at least one of the bigger banks told the government “they aren’t willing to make these changes at all.”Most simply call it ‘Climate Incentive Canada’, ‘Climate Action Incentive Canada’, or ‘Federal Climate Incentive’ as examples.Predictably, the government source claimed the confusion has “opened the door to misinformation” about the whole carbon taxation system. That’s despite polls that consistently show nearly half of all Canadians in all parts of the country are opposed to the tax, while a Leger poll in March showed 69% opposed to the most recent increase of $15 per tonne on April 1..Late last year the government spent $30,000 on a Super Bowl ad as part of a $6.8 million ‘climate literacy’ push. .The Star article quoted several banks, including RBC, CIBC and Scotiabank as those looking to update the payment labels, while TD and Bank of Montreal have reportedly already done so. The government is also reportedly looking to increase advertising spending but is coming up against its own rules around partisan advertising introduced in 2015 to counter the Harper government’s ’economic action plan’. A 2019 campaign was cited by the Ad Standards watchdog as being too ‘self congratulatory’. Late last year the government spent $30,000 on a Super Bowl ad as part of a $6.8 million ‘climate literacy’ push.
What’s in a name?Apparently everything when it comes to the Liberal government’s carbon tax refunds that went into the mail starting on Monday.But for those signed up for direct deposits, the federal government is pressuring banks to adopt its preferred name for the handouts — the ‘Canada Carbon Rebate’ — on statements instead of the earlier ‘climate action incentive payments’.According to the Toronto Star the government wants banks to re-label the quarterly stipends as ‘CDACarbonRebate’ in English, and the more localized ‘CarboneRemiseCA’ in French. .“They aren’t willing to make these changes at all.”Unnamed government official.It’s part of the Trudeau government’s rebranding of the unpopular tax into something more palatable for Canadians eligible to receive them. Senior cabinet ministers, including the prime minister, have complained the old name is confusing and doesn’t play into its narrative that the vast majority of Canadians get more back than they pay. But according to the Star at least one major Canadian bank is refusing to play along, citing an anonymous senior government official who said some unnamed financial institutions “are being less than helpful” in making the change..A Leger poll in March showed 69% opposed to the most recent increase of $15 per tonne on April 1..That’s because some institutions have technical limits on character counts and bilingual requirements. But at least one of the bigger banks told the government “they aren’t willing to make these changes at all.”Most simply call it ‘Climate Incentive Canada’, ‘Climate Action Incentive Canada’, or ‘Federal Climate Incentive’ as examples.Predictably, the government source claimed the confusion has “opened the door to misinformation” about the whole carbon taxation system. That’s despite polls that consistently show nearly half of all Canadians in all parts of the country are opposed to the tax, while a Leger poll in March showed 69% opposed to the most recent increase of $15 per tonne on April 1..Late last year the government spent $30,000 on a Super Bowl ad as part of a $6.8 million ‘climate literacy’ push. .The Star article quoted several banks, including RBC, CIBC and Scotiabank as those looking to update the payment labels, while TD and Bank of Montreal have reportedly already done so. The government is also reportedly looking to increase advertising spending but is coming up against its own rules around partisan advertising introduced in 2015 to counter the Harper government’s ’economic action plan’. A 2019 campaign was cited by the Ad Standards watchdog as being too ‘self congratulatory’. Late last year the government spent $30,000 on a Super Bowl ad as part of a $6.8 million ‘climate literacy’ push.
