Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is ready to propose a vote of no confidence in the prime minister in order to cause a “carbon tax election” because Justin Trudeau said he won’t change the planned price increase on April 1.
Climate action groups are asking the Conservatives to stop blaming the carbon price for political reasons. The prime minister agreed with Poilievre’s challenge during question time on Wednesday.
There was an election about the cost of pollution. We had three candidates. Trudeau said he was the speaker and his team won all of the games.
“Then he shouldn’t be scared to get one more,” Poilievre responded.
Poilievre talked to his group in Parliament about how their party is working hard to pressure the federal Liberals on their pollution pricing.
“Today, I’m saying that I’m giving Trudeau one more chance to stop his plans to raise prices. ” Poilievre said there is only one more day and one final opportunity. “If Trudeau doesn’t stop his planned tax increases on food, gas and heat today, we will make a motion to show that we don’t have confidence in him as the prime minister. ”
After the time for asking questions, there was a vote on Tuesday’s opposing day motion. The vote asked the NDP-Liberal group to cancel the hike in carbon emissions. They said that 70% of provinces and 70% of Canadians are against the 23% increase from $65 to $80 per tonne of carbon emissions.
It didn’t get approved because team Trudeau, the Bloc, NDP, and Green parties said no. This will start a big argument on Thursday.
Throughout the week, Poilievre’s party has been asking Trudeau about the carbon price and trying to get an emergency debate on the issue because many people across Canada are against the April 1 hike.
Now, Trudeau said no to the request. The Conservatives have another day to oppose and vote on Thursday. It seems like they are willing to take a bigger risk, even though it probably won’t work.
Poilievre said he wants to make a motion that says the House does not trust the prime minister and his expensive government. They want to dissolve the House so that Canadians can vote on a carbon tax election.
The “confidence convention” in Parliament says that if the government loses a vote of confidence, it should resign or ask for a new election.
Since March 2021, the Liberals and New Democrats have been working together to keep Trudeau’s government in power until June 2025. The NDP gets progress on their priorities in exchange for their support.
The NDP has agreed to help the Liberals when it comes to important decisions and money votes. They will also support the government in motions that show whether or not they have the confidence of the House.
CPC is searching for videos: Nanos.
The federal Conservatives have threatened to try and bring down the Trudeau government before.
In 2020, the party wanted to introduce a motion of no-confidence in the Parliament, but changed their mind after only 20 days.
This is not the first time the party has asked for an “election on carbon tax. ”
In November, there was a lot of talk about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau giving special treatment to home heating oil in his carbon pricing plan. Poilievre asked Trudeau to stop the carbon tax on home heating until Canadians vote in the next election.
At that time, the Liberals were happy to talk about the pollution-pricing program for the next election. Trudeau said that Canadians are very worried about fighting climate change.
In recent months, the government has been talking a lot about giving people money back for the carbon tax, calling it the Canada Carbon Rebate.
In the meantime, Poilievre is doing well in the polls and traveling around the country to organize political rallies advocating against tax increases. He is ahead of the Liberals in the polls according to pollster Nik Nanos.
Nanos told CTV News that the Conservatives would be happy to have an election now and they are trying to make the carbon tax a bigger issue.
When asked why he thinks the Conservatives are going so far, considering their polling numbers, Nanos suggested that Poilievre’s team is “searching for video clips to use in their negative campaign ads for the upcoming federal election. ”
“They want the prime minister and the Liberals to talk about the tax and say they won’t change it. ” You can be sure they will be at the forefront in the next election.
Climate organizations criticize the use of politics.
The carbon tax and rebate system started in 2019. It puts a tax on pollution from burning fossil fuels to help people change how they use energy.
Canadians get money back every three months through direct deposit or a cheque in provinces where the federal backstop system is used.
Recently, people have been asking Trudeau to cancel the recent increase in the carbon tax because they are worried about the cost of living. But Trudeau believes that most Canadians get more money back from the rebate than they pay in the carbon tax. He also said that his job is not to be liked by everyone, but to make decisions that will benefit Canadians in the future.
Liberal MPs believe in the government’s plan to reduce emissions and fight climate change. They were elected on this promise. They also say that in provinces where the federal backstop is needed, it’s because the provincial plan wasn’t good enough.
In response to Poilievre’s plan to change the carbon tax, several important climate groups criticized it. They said it would hurt Canada’s overall plan to fight climate change and make it harder for everyday people to afford things.
