Liberal Party, feds launch campaigns to get Canadians aware of carbon price rebate

The Liberal government is pushing a broad public opinion and awareness campaign to get Canadians in the know about carbon pricing rebates, but one expert says a return at tax time won’t guarantee a bump in popular support for Ottawa’s pricing policy. The federal benchmark carbon pricing system will go into effect on April 1 in four provinces: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. Those four provinces, which constitute almost half of Canada’s population, oppose the federal carbon pricing plan and either refused or failed to provide Ottawa with a pricing plan that met its requirements. The Alberta tar sands, one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in Canada. The province currently has its own carbon pricing plan. The Hill Times file photograph The controversial carbon levy will start next month at $20 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions, which translates to adding 4.3 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline. But the Liberals want to make it known that revenues from the tax will go to the rebate program—called the Climate Action Incentive—which is worth $154 for an individual in Ontario. For a family of four in the province, the incentive is worth $307. But Nic Rivers, the Canada Research Chair in climate and energy policy at the University of Ottawa, said while rebates should address concerns over whether carbon pricing is a tax grab, it doesn’t guarantee more Canadians will back the cornerstone Liberal policy. “It's probably helps, it's not exactly clear how much it helps, but it's certainly not a panacea,” he said. “It's become a really partisan issue, although both parties have campaigned on carbon prices in the past.” He said it’s incumbent on governments to make tax rebates as visible as possible, but cautioned that there isn’t enough evidence yet to conclude such incentives can persuade carbon pricing skeptics that it is a good policy. But Prof. Rivers noted that when British Columbia introduced a carbon rebate found in property tax bills for rural and northern households, valued around $200, public opinion didn’t shift toward greater support. He said, however, that support often depends on one's political views about government and taxes. The Liberal Party began airing commute-time radio advertisements featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) last week. In these ads, Mr. Trudeau says the carbon pricing policy “makes polluters pay and gives the money back to people.” “Now, some politicians want to go back to the Harper years when pollution was free. We have to do better than that—our kids are counting on us,” he says. The Ontario version of a pamphlet distributed by the Liberal Party to its volunteers and candidates about its climate policy. Provided by the Liberal Party Liberal spokesperson Braeden Caley said similar digital ads will also hit social media in the rest of the country and pamphlets have been distributed to party candidates and volunteers. He said advertising campaigns will “certainly continue to ramp up” as the October election approaches. The Canada Revenue Agency also recently launched a “comprehensive marketing campaign” to ensure that taxpayers eligible for the rebate know about it, according to spokesperson Dany Morin. He said efforts include direct mail out to all homes in each of the four provinces, print, radio and digital advertising, as well as highlighting the rebate on in its 2018 T1 income tax and benefit package. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna (Ottawa Centre, Ont.) is also on a month-long barnstorming tour to promote the rebate. She spoke last week at a climate rally in Toronto and participated in a climate-focused town hall in Mississauga. She’s also visited various H&R Block locations to promote the rebate. The country’s biggest tax preparer is mounting its own social media campaign and putting up storefront signage to alert people of the rebate. In an interview with The Hill Times, Ms. McKenna said her government has a reasonable and transparent policy that will empower people by returning revenues directly to individuals and households. “I think we realized that if you give the money back, you empower people and you make it clear that while you’ll pay a bit more at the pump, you'll get more money back,” she said on Feb. 27. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announces new plans for climate action at a press conference in Ottawa on Dec. 20. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Ms. McKenna also said there were lessons to be learned from the carbon tax in France under president Emmanuel Macron. There, revenues were used to reduce the country’s deficit, while in the four Canadian provinces, 90 per cent is returned to individuals and households. The tax triggered the populist Yellow Vests movement in France, known as the gilet jaunes. Protests led Mr. Macron to halt periodic hikes to the tax. “I think in France, they didn't take that approach. Life was made more expensive, as opposed to less,” she said. Prof. Rivers said in his view, there are two flaws with the Liberals’ rebate system: access to the rebate is only limited to those who file their taxes annually, and it doesn’t involve the mailing of a cheque, something that would make the rebate more visible compared to it how it will be found in income tax returns. “There's potential concern that the rebate may not be all that visible, even though consumers are getting it, they may not know they're getting it,” he said. Carleton University political science professor Jennifer Robson said there are both policy and political reasons for a rebate to be visible. “If people don’t claim the credit then the impacts or policy goals aren’t fulfilled,” she said. “Politically of course, governments want taxpayers to notice when there is a new credit and like to be able to give the most optimistic estimate of the possible value to those who claim it.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in August 2018. He nixed the province's carbon pricing plan shortly after he was elected. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Conservative premiers, including Ontario’s Doug Ford and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe, have strongly opposed the Liberal government’s carbon pricing plan. They say carbon pricing will hike the cost of living for Canadians. Mr. Ford has gone as far to say carbon pricing will cause a recession, although economists generally do not support that claim. Proponents of carbon pricing say it is necessary to combat climate change and is the most market-friendly option that can result in significant greenhouse gas emission reductions. A November Abacus Data poll found 39 per cent of those polled support revenues being returned and 36 per cent say they accept it. Only 24 per cent of respondents opposed the plan. Fifty-nine per cent of Canadians believe carbon pricing is a step in the right direction. Prof. Rivers cautioned that one issue with polling Canadians’ appetites for carbon pricing is how questions are framed, which can result in different survey outcomes. “If you say to people, 'do you support a carbon tax, or do you want to be taxed on your emissions?' people will typically say no,” he said. “But if you ask them, 'should polluters pay a carbon price?' they'll say yes.” jlim@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Liberal Party, feds launch campaigns to get Canadians aware of carbon price rebate

It's not clear yet if the carbon pricing rebate will convince more Canadians to support the Liberals' cornerstone policy.

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Liberal Party, feds launch campaigns to get Canadians aware of carbon price rebate

It's not clear yet if the carbon pricing rebate will convince more Canadians to support the Liberals' cornerstone policy.

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