From: Craig Scott, Yellowknife
Dear editor,
It’s disappointing, for many reasons, that the first time our new territorial leadership made national news was to ask for an exemption on the carbon tax for the NWT. Having just come out of a devastating two years of climate-related wildfires, floods and drought, our newly-minted leaders might have used the national and international spotlight (with a high profile COP28 happening at the same time) to show climate leadership.
The GNWT should have used our example to push for more climate action, promoted an evidence-based approach to climate change solutions, and become a champion of the environment that is based on a very difficult lived experience of the climate change future happening in real time in the North.
A simple look at the carbon tax shows it is a boon for NWT residents. In a time when inflation is making everything more expensive, studies show carbon tax puts more money in over 80 per cent of Canadians pockets (likely even more in the NWT). Cost of Living Offset (COLO) payments that every taxpayer receives every three months more than cover the carbon price we pay, to the extent that families (kids get credits, too) can pocket north of $1,000 if they don’t have an excessive carbon footprint.
Yes, the tax is slated to increase annually, but so will the COLO payments. If you use that excess money to reduce your emissions, you get even further ahead and NWT-wide, that can help reduce our deficit, as money is spent in the NWT, instead of sending it to Alberta refineries.
Good leadership should embrace good policy for what it is: using evidence to back up your argument. To ask for a carbon tax exemption on the national stage — without doing the research to back up the claim — causes inflation and will hurt NWT families’ pocketbooks at a time where none of us can afford it. It also hurts climate progress at a time when it is critical to reduce fossil fuel use.
There is still time to reflect on this stance. We have a relatively progressive ‘made in the North’ carbon tax that helps Northerners, particularly those in remote communities and with low incomes. Repealing the carbon tax will hurt those most at risk, while increasing the chances of more climate emergencies in the NWT.
Find out more about the true details of a carbon tax, think about how big your COLO payment is and what funds it, and whether it is greater than the tax you pay at the pump. Talk to your elected leaders about it before it’s too late.