Conservative Candidate Calls Carbon Tax 'Effective' But Would Scrap It

One CPC leadership candidate is saying that while a price on carbon might be the “most effective” policy to curb emissions, he’d scrap it anyway.

“We need to lower emissions there’s no question about that but we need to actually assist Canadians to reduce their footprint. I recognize that you know a carbon tax may be the most effective and efficient way to do this but it’s not the fairest way to do it,” said MP Scott Aitchison.

“We need to work with municipalities and we need to help Canadians reduce their footprint, not punish them.”

Aitchison had publicly supported elements of former leader Erin O’Toole’s plan to fight climate change, which included a carbon-pricing scheme.

Under the O’Toole plan, Canadians would see funds accumulated from fuel consumption stored in an account that could be used later on green purchases like a bicycle or transit pass. O’Toole insisted it was not a tax.

Aitchison said he had “hoped” the party could eliminate consumer pricing and acknowledges that the proposed system “will be more complex than a tax and rebate system” but he accepted that if carbon pricing must be a part of the solution, “it should help Canadians instead of punishing” them.

Before entering federal politics during the 2019 election, Aitchison served as the mayor of Huntsville and touts that experience when asked what he brings to the table.

“Mayors are in the business of solving problems and getting things done. I come to this opportunity in my career in Ottawa without any of the baggage of Ottawa, but years of experience of actually getting things done,” he said.