A vow by the energy-producing province of Saskatchewan not to
collect a federal carbon tax on some homes is irresponsible, Canada's energy minister said on Thursday in comments that added to a mounting dispute between Ottawa and the provinces.
'It's irresponsible': Justin Trudeau's natural resources minister is worried about a provincial rebellion brewing against Ottawa. Jonathan Wilkinson is concerned about what he's hearing from some premiers, and he's "had it up to here with Mr. Poilievre," Susan Delacourt writes.
What’re ya going to do about it Jonathan?
Long before he was Canada’s natural resources minister, Jonathan Wilkinson was part of the once-thriving constitutional industry in Canada.
As a negotiator for Saskatchewan’s then-premier Roy Romanow, Wilkinson had a front-row seat in the talks that led to the Charlottetown constitutional accord in the early 1990s.
So now, nearly 30 years later, watching the current Government of Saskatchewan talking about opting out of federal measures it doesn’t like — the price on carbon, for instance — Wilkinson is particularly, even personally, taken aback. His constitutional past and his natural resources present are colliding, and not in a way Wilkinson
had ever expected.
Jonathan Wilkinson is concerned about what he's hearing from some premiers, and he's "had it up to here with Mr. Poilievre," Susan Delacourt writes.
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The federal government's discussions around rebranding the rebate program for its carbon pricing system are aimed at ensuring Canadians are aware of what their rebates are for,
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday?
The first public acknowledgment of a potential rebrand of the government's flagship climate policy comes as the Conservatives immediately dismissed the idea, and experts and political insiders raised questions on whether a rebrand would boost perceptions of the carbon price.
Is it a communications problem?
"I think the discussions around rebranding really relate to trying to ensure that it's understandable," Wilkinson said on his way into the Liberals' weekly cabinet meeting. "A lot of folks out there don't know what they're getting when they actually get the rebate."
Catherine (Climate Barbie) McKenna, who first introduced the price on carbon as environment and climate change minister in 2018, said she had worked incessantly after introducing the policy to make sure she and MPs emphasized the rebates to Canadians. But she can't help but
feel "disappointed" with how the government has since communicated the policy, she said.
"Whatever you want to call it, you have to ensure you're telling people they're getting (
a portion of their) money back," she said, calling for an "all-MP effort and "constant communications."
The federal government's discussions around rebranding the rebate program for its carbon pricing system are aimed at ensuring Canadians are aware of what their rebates are for, Natural Resources Minister
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