Back in 2016, the federal government mandated that all provinces must have a carbon pollution pricing system in place by 2018, with the default option of federally set prices for any province that does not implement one.
The concept behind the carbon tax, according to the Canadian government, is to help meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target and grow the economy by putting a price on carbon pollution. The government believes attaching a cost to that pollution is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
Earlier this month, the Manitoba government tabled its budget and provided more information about its Made-In-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan. As of Sept. 1, the price of gas will rise by 5.32 cents per litre, with diesel, propane and natural gas jumping in price as well, according to how much carbon they emit.
The shock the average person may feel at the pump come September might lend itself to the idea that those greenhouse gas emissions will be below target in no time and the economy will be thriving. But exemptions to several of Manitoba’s major industries – agriculture, mining, forestry and fishing – mean that operations producing a significant amount of carbon emissions will not be subject to the tax.
All of these industries are resource-based. Not listed for exemption is the tourism industry.
This could have dire effects on northern Manitoba, particularly at a time when local and provincial efforts are being made to drive people north.
The northern tourism industry is dependent on fuel, from the moment a guest decides to travel north in a vehicle of their choosing, to the time they head back to where they came from. Fishing boats need fuel. So does the airplane used to get to a remote camp. So does the generator used to power that camp. So do a multitude of other pieces of the industry.
For a mom-and-pop operation, the carbon tax could be enough to price them out of the industry, especially if they are competing with operations in northern Saskatchewan, which currently does not have a carbon tax (this could be short lived, though, and federal mandates may see the tax increase to $50 per tonne of carbon emissions by 2023).
As the province encourages people to look north, many will see the price tag attached and say “No, thanks.”
The tourism industry is arguably a resource-based industry alongside mining, forestry and fishing, and in the short term, it could do with some exemptions.
Over the long term, though, all resource industries should be on the lookout for ways to reduce their carbon emissions.
The premise behind Canada’s carbon pollution pricing is an important one – it is forward thinking and concerned for future generations and our environment. Stewardship of the land that drives our industries should be a top priority for the industries that use it.
Eventually, and sooner rather than later, industry should be operating in less harmful ways. In the meantime, the tourism industry deserves the same breaks as the rest of them.
