Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has slammed Ontario Premier Doug Ford over comments he made criticizing the new Liberal carbon tax plan..“Premier Ford either is not telling Ontarians the facts, or he doesn’t fully understand how the price on pollution works, because what he’s saying is simply incorrect,” Wilkinson told the Toronto Star..“I don’t think that the politicians who use rhetoric like that are doing Canadians a great service.”.On December 11, the Liberals unveiled their new climate change plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050..The plan involves increasing the tax on carbon emissions to $170 per metric ton and gas prices by almost 38 cents per litre by 2030..Not all Canadians agree with the plan..The initially Liberal carbon tax was challenged by Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta in the Supreme Court of Canada. On September 23, following two days of hearings, the Court adjourned – saying that it will deliver a ruling at an unspecified future date.. Flight into Danger: Canada dealt with 1,300 international flights with COVID aboard since September .Commenting upon the new plan, Ford said that he was “floored” by the announcement..“I just can’t understand, for the life of me, why anyone would want to put a burden on the backs of the hard-working people of this province. Folks, this carbon tax is going to be the worst thing you could ever see. It’s gonna increase the cost of your groceries, it’s gonna increase of travelling, it’s gonna increase every good and service you have out there… if I were tell you right now that you’re going out tomorrow, and you’re gonna pay 30 cents more a litre on gas, you’d be floored. But it’s not tomorrow, it’s gonna be in one year, 2022 (sic),” said Ford..Ford characterized the Trudeau plan as a “30 per cent tax grab.”.But Wilkinson fired backing adding the specifics went over Ford’s head..“All of the money goes back (to people),” he said..“The majority of families in Ontario and across the rest of the country are actually better off.”.The federal plan includes annual rebates of about $2,000 for the average family of four by 2030..“The money is all returned. It’s not raised for the revenue of the government,” Wilkinson said..Wilkinson then qualified the statement, saying the government actually expects only 60 to 65 per cent of families would “come out ahead” under the plan..As the country eventually leaves COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror, Ford said he wants to see “an environment for companies and people to thrive and prosper and grow.”.He said the federal government is now going to “make sure we aren’t competitive.”.“You don’t have to protect the environment on the backs of the people… at a time when people are barely holding on by their fingernails…” said Ford..Ken Grafton is the Western Standards Ottawa Bureau Chief. He can be reached at kgrafton@westernstandardonline.com
