Domestic Politics

First Ministers' meeting yields progress 

Liam McPherson 

Ottawa, ON. 

March 6, 2016 


But will Canada's leaders put their money where their mouths are?

Once an occurrence which would take place twice over the last decade, The First Ministers' meeting has become a fixture of the new governing approach taken by the Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. After their second meeting on the topic of climate change, Canada's premiers and the federal government have now inked out an eight-page set of standards for a nationwide climate strategy. The question remains, though; will the premiers put their money where their mouths are?

It has never been a mystery that transitioning to a green economy will not come free of charge. However, the long term cost of doing nothing will cost Canadians much more than the short term cost of transition. The pushback against a carbon tax before the First Ministers' meeting, namely from Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, has been a problem for the Trudeau Liberals. Additionally, the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, are implementing or have already implemented their own carbon cap-and-trade systems, prompting some to wonder if a national carbon pricing plan could be bureaucratically burdensome or too costly for the taxpayer in those provinces.

However, resistance to a nationwide carbon pricing plan softened by the end of the meeting last Thursday, and while details on specific pricing options are still vague, it is safe to assume the national strategy the Prime Minister and provincial premiers devise will have to adapt to the needs of each individual province. That will make it harder for Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to set new targets for Canada to achieve. Minister McKenna signalled last week on CBC's radio program The House that the Trudeau government still intends to keep the targets of the previous Conservative government as a "floor", and that Canadians can expect new targets within six months. McKenna also won't rule out imposing a national carbon tax plan if the premiers are unable to reach an agreement with the federal government.

B.C. and Ontario are having trouble transitioning to green economies in their own province, and are wary of any new targets being proposed before significant action is taken to meet them. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall's worry is that a carbon tax could make Saskatchewan's oil-based economy less potent, and make the province less competitive in that market. All premiers publicly claim to recognize the urgency of doing something about climate change but each have different means of achieving a more energy-efficient province. So perhaps the bigger question to ask is not wondering what the federal government can do to try and unify the provinces' approach, as the national carbon tax is in place as a last resort. The real question is, if the premiers are genuinely worried about the impact of climate change, and are truly committed to doing something about it, will they put their money where their mouths are, and do what it takes to address the problem adequately?

Short-term economic impacts are a small price to pay when those impacts can avoid catastrophic environmental consequences and human casualties/displacement. The premiers must show as much leadership as the Prime Minister on this file, as climate change does not concern solely their province, but the entirety of Canada and the world. Investing in green tech and transitioning away from fossil fuels can even generate revenue, and create jobs, if a province helps fossil-fuel workers transition to jobs in the new industry. Let us hope Canada's top politicians work as a federation to tackle this issue because at the end of the day, that is not only what we define ourselves as, but what Canadians expect us to be.

The views and opinions expressed in all articles are those of the author alone. They do not reflect the positions of the author's current or previous employers, any organization to which the author belongs, or The Young Canadian Media.