Stop scapegoating the carbon price

Across the country, Canadians are suffering from the cost-of-living crisis. We feel it, too. The rising prices of energy, food, housing and transportation, as well as the impacts of the warmest year ever recorded — including wildfires, floods and storms that have taken communities, livelihoods and lives — have touched virtually every household in the country.

Some federal politicians and premiers are shamelessly exploiting Canadians’ economic pain to score political points. Just look at Parliament last month, with motions introduced by the official Opposition calling for a freeze on a long-planned carbon price increase. False and misleading claims about the carbon tax worsening unaffordability do a disservice to low- and middle-income Canadians who stand to gain the most from the carbon tax through quarterly rebates and who also face the greatest risks from increasing extreme events like wildfires, floods and drought.

Ideologically driven attacks on the carbon price seek to undermine Canada’s climate plan — forcing everyday Canadians to shoulder the burden of the affordability and climate crises while multinational oil and gas companies can continue polluting without consequences.

Big Oil and its echo chamber hope Canadians forget that inflation is driven by multiple factors, including price-gouging by monopolies and industries like oil and gas. While these fossil fuel companies rake in excessive profits, they are fighting every attempt to be held accountable for their pollution and climate damage.

Canada can address the climate crisis and affordability simultaneously, but it requires all levels of government to work together constructively to introduce policies that address both challenges. These policies include:

1. Supporting Canadians struggling with home energy costs by establishing a free housing retrofit program for low-income households and facilitating affordable access to energy efficiency measures, heat pumps and home electrification for all households.
2. Enhancing access to affordable transportation options, including through incentives for used zero-emission vehicles and for e-bikes and by providing operating funding for public transit systems.
3. Redistributing revenue from taxing the massive windfall profits of oil and gas companies to fund these priorities and support Canadians through the energy transition.

Climate policy cannot be sacrificed to the whims of political leaders who put the interests of wealthy fossil fuel corporations ahead of the needs of Canadians.

The federal government must ensure Canada does its part to protect Canadians from the impacts of climate change while putting money back into their pockets, which carbon pricing does.

Crucially, Canada's approach to tackling climate and affordability must not undermine the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and federal policies — including carbon pricing — must be developed and implemented in a way that respects the rights, sovereignty and decision-making authority of Indigenous nations.

At the same time, carbon pricing is only one tool in the climate policy toolbox and must be accompanied by complementary climate policies and an affordability package that prevents Canadians from having to choose between their well-being, their wallet and a safe climate.

Governments across the country need to resist the cynical use of carbon pricing to distract from the real culprits of inflation.

To help Canadians through this difficult time, they must adopt policies that provide tangible and immediate support to address rising costs, while tackling the long-term dependency on fossil fuels that make us poorer and more vulnerable to energy price shocks and climate disasters.

This op-ed was inspired by a joint statement signed by over 25 Canadian organizations. Read the full statement here.

Caroline Brouillette, executive director, Climate Action Network Canada - Réseau action climat Canada. Julia Levin, associate director, national climate, Environmental Defence.