Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall lashes out at Trudeau over ‘unilateral’ carbon tax
MONTREAL — Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall tore a strip off Justin Trudeau while frustrated environment ministers walked out on their federal counterpart Monday after the prime minister promised to unilaterally impose a carbon price in those provinces and territories that won’t do it themselves.
With provincial and territorial ministers gathered for a day of climate-change talks in Montreal, the prime minister kicked off a House of Commons debate on the Paris climate change accord with unexpected news: Ottawa will set — and enforce, if necessary — a minimum price for carbon pollution.
The federal plan sets a “floor price” of $10 a tonne starting in 2018 that increases to $50 a tonne by 2022.
Wall — a longtime opponent of pricing carbon — did not pull his punches.