The following is an excerpt…

The following is an excerpt from the Executive Summary of my submission to the Federal / Provincial / Territorial Working Group on putting a price on carbon. This submission strongly supports the pricing of GHG emissions with a view to more efficiently reducing emissions and has the following specific recommendations in this regard:

1. All programs providing direct and indirect subsidies of GHG emissions and GHG emitting products (i.e., negative prices on carbon) should be eliminated with respect to new investments.

2. A national minimum price per Tonne of CO2e5 (the Minimum Price) should be charged on all manmade GHG emissions in Canada. The Minimum Price should be substantial, should increase regularly by pre-determined amounts, and should be further increased as required to ensure net increases in end-user prices.

3. A separate pollution surcharge (based on expected lifetime GHG emissions) should be charged on all prescribed GHG emitting durable goods sold in Canada.

4. Each Province would have the option of establishing its own mechanisms, compliant with the Minimum Price, for setting and collecting the price on GHG emissions. In the absence of a compliant provincial regime, a federal levy on GHG emissions would apply.

5. All of the proceeds of the Minimum Price should be transparently applied exclusively to address climate change or in the form of dividends or tax breaks to the public (and for no other purposes), in the following suggested order of priority:

a. to alleviate undue hardship in Canada caused by climate change or by the price on GHG emissions (but not through a subsidy of GHG emissions);

b. to fund national low GHG emissions infrastructure;

c. to fund research, innovation and related initiatives in support of the transition to a low GHG emissions economy;

d. to alleviate international hardship caused by climate change; and

e. as otherwise jointly determined by the federal government and the Provinces to support the transition to a low GHG emissions economy, which could include payments for initiatives under climate action plans, reductions in employment or other taxes, and/or payments of dividends.

6. The competitive playing field on which Canadian industries and workers compete should be levelled through the imposition of international trade compliant, carbon border adjustments or equivalent mechanisms.