The B.C. NDP government won a major court case last week, even though it was technically the latest ruling on a matter pitting Ottawa against several other provinces.
When the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government’s proposed carbon tax is all perfectly legal and constitutionally sound, it was a big boost to the Trudeau government’s plan to fight climate change.
However, the judgement was also a clear victory for the Horgan government here in B.C., the birthplace of this country’s first carbon tax. The B.C. NDP government had sought intervener status in this case, as well it should have.
That is because a steadily rising carbon tax is a key part of the NDP government’s own plan to tackle global warming. The tax is pegged at $35 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions and the NDP plans – and this a critical part – to increase that tax by $5 a year until it hits at least $50 per tonne.
As I have noted here before, B.C. could find itself at a significant economic disadvantage if it was the only province with a carbon tax that kept on getting more expensive every year, while other provinces shied away from implementing one.
That is precisely the position right-leaning provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario take when it comes to a carbon tax. The premiers of those provinces, never fans of taxation to begin with, detest a carbon tax – especially one levied and administered by the federal government.
But the Ontario court ruled Ottawa’s proposed carbon tax isn’t even really an actual tax. Rather, the court found, it is simply a regulatory charge tied to a desired outcome (in this case, reducing greenhouse gas emissions).
This part of the ruling is another potential gift to the Horgan government. It is conceivable the NDP government now drops the word “tax” in its next budget and replaces it with “levy” or some other neutral term.
The Ontario court ruling – which follows a similar one from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal – pushes the B.C. NDP and the federal Liberal Party closer together on the climate action file.
The federal NDP and the federal Greens both favour far more aggressive action, but Horgan and Trudeau – who face the challenges that come with governing, unlike their Opposition counterparts – prefer mastering the art of political compromise.
This will likely create some tension in the upcoming federal election. The B.C. NDP government, a lonely puddle of orange in a sea of conservative blue across the country, needs the Trudeau government to remain in power, at the very least in a minority government situation.
If that means distancing itself from the federal NDP – including NDP candidate Svend Robinson, hoping to mount a political comeback in the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour – so be it. Robinson is a vocal critic of a number of key polices – LNG in particular – adopted by the B.C. NDP, so there is little love lost there anyway.
An Andrew Scheer led-Conservative Party victory would be a body blow to the Horgan government. Not only would it make B.C. an outlier when it comes to a carbon tax, but it would break up the bromance between Horgan and Trudeau that so far has served B.C. well when it comes to such things as securing infrastructure money for transit and ocean protection.
For now anyways, B.C.’s carbon tax is not unpopular in this province. It certainly brings in a lot of money for the provincial government: an expected $1.7 billion this year, rising to more than $2 billion annually two years from now.
The tax used to be “revenue neutral” (it was originally tied to an income tax reduction) but it lost that status in the final years of the last B.C. Liberal government. The NDP has completely shredded any notion of revenue neutrality and now ties the tax to clean energy projects and transit – a political calculation that likely makes sense.
As we approach the federal fall election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can understandably take considerable comfort in high court rulings backing a key part of his climate action strategy.
But standing right beside him is B.C. Premier John Horgan, happy to see their carbon tax position vindicated over the objections of their right-wing provincial colleagues.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
