NDP Statement on Minister Mckenna’s Announcement on Carbon Tax Breaks

NDP Parliamentary Leader, Guy Caron, made the following statement:

"The Liberal government doesn’t seem to understand that fighting climate change and protecting our environment are critical issues for Canadians.
Climate change continues to have more consequences on the day-to-day life of Canadians, yet the Liberals are more concerned with how the industry will be able adapt to the federal framework, than on the consequences of climate change on Canadians. Relaxing requirements for Large Industrial Emitters pushes any hope of reducing our emissions even further out of our reach.
This move by the Liberals again calls into question their commitment to environmental protection. After more than two years in office, the Liberals have enacted few concrete measures. The government has already bent to industry demands by delaying proposed methane regulations that would force oil and gas companies to adopt better monitoring and reduce emissions of the most powerful greenhouse gas.
The Liberals committed Canada to joining global efforts to keep average global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees C, but the Trudeau government is using Stephen Harper’s weak and ineffective targets, which will not only not get us there, they will not even be achieved by this government.
In the last election, the NDP proposed creating a national strategy for carbon reduction and although the Liberals adopted our framework, they have done little or no real work on implementing a strategy. If the Liberals want to protect our environment and meet our targets, they need to get serious about immediately implementing a strategy to get us there.”