New Brunswick drivers appear likely to face two new carbon-related charges this time next month that could add as much as 12.4 cents per litre to the price of gasoline and 14.2 cents to diesel, factoring in all changes, including the effect of the HST.
In a province that consumes 1.4 billion litres of the two fuels each year, it’s a potential cost to consumers in excess of $175 million, less than one-third of which will be subject to rebates.
Final amounts will depend on an upcoming decision of New Brunswick’s Energy and Utilities Board, but a double increase on each fuel on July 1 appears inevitable according to the province’s new public intervener Alain Chiasson.
“Unfortunately, that sounds about right,” said Chiasson.
On gasoline, the two charges include a 3.26-cent-per-litre annual increase in regular carbon taxes applied at the pump.
Diesel, which contains more carbon than gasoline, is facing a 3.97-cent-per-litre increase.
Diesel prices set a Canadian record in New Brunswick when they passed $3 per litre in early November 2022. The federal government says so much money was made by oil companies last year they can afford to pay for new clean fuel regulations. (Eric Wooliscroft/CBC)
Those increases, added to existing carbon taxes imposed in earlier years, will all be recoverable by consumers when carbon tax rebates in New Brunswick begin in October.
The second and more controversial July 1 charge, estimated to be as high as 7.5 cents per litre on gasoline, is to be imposed to compensate oil companies for extra costs caused by new federal “clean fuel” regulations.
A similar charge on diesel could be as high as 8.4 cents and unlike carbon taxes, neither of those will be subject to rebates.
There is a dispute between the federal and New Brunswick governments over whether oil companies or consumers should deal with the costs of the clean fuel program, but it’s New Brunswick’s decision. In December, the province changed legislation clearing the way for consumers to pay.
New Brunswick Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland told the legislature that costs of the clean fuel regulations to “manufacturers and importers” of petroleum products would be “significant.”
“These cost will be passed on to wholesalers and retailers, so it will be critical to have these costs reflected in the weekly price calculation,” said Holland.
Through its legislation, the province authorized a new “carbon cost adjuster” to be added to regulated fuel prices to mitigate costs to oil companies of the new clean fuel rules and then left it to the Energy and Utilities Board to decide on an amount.
The Irving Oil refinery in Saint John is Canada’s largest. The New Brunswick government changed legislation in December to allow costs imposed by new federal rules about clean fuels to be passed on to consumers. (Roger Cosman/CBC News)
The board hired the consulting company Grant Thornton to advise it on how to proceed and the company developed a formula that estimated amounts that would have to be charged to consumers to pay for new federal levies facing industry.
A hearing was held by the board at the end of April, and although it has not released a decision yet on what clean fuel charges it will authorize, Chiasson does not see many options.
“The board will make its decision,” said Chiasson.
“Maybe they’ll come up with some other formula but I doubt they would go against their experts so we’re probably looking at a seven- or eight-cent increase plus the carbon tax.”
What is the clean fuel standard?
Unlike the carbon tax, which is meant to affect consumer decisions about the use of fossil fuels, the clean fuel standard is aimed at affecting industry practices.
Its goal is to encourage an expansion of the production and distribution of products like ethanol and biodiesel and to force changes inside refineries like the use of renewable energy in the manufacturing process.
The price of gas and diesel in New Brunswick has been falling this spring, but that may change July 1 when two separate carbon charges may hit provincial pumps at the same time. (Richie Bulger/CBC)
Targets have been set to lower the carbon intensity of what refineries produce and how they operate, and financial rewards and penalties are in place if those targets are exceeded or missed.
Critics have complained passing costs of penalties onto consumers will lower incentives for industry to make changes. In a letter to the Energy and Utilities Board last week, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault urged the board not to authorize any increase in prices to consumers for clean fuel costs.
He said companies have a year to take actions that will reduce penalties they might face and claimed the costs of not meeting targets are being exaggerated in any event.
“It is the position of the Government of Canada that the Clean Fuel Regulations will not necessarily lead to significant cost increases to refiners particularly in the short term,” he wrote.
“Seeking immediate consumer price increases to account for estimated costs under a worst case scenario projection could lead to a scenario where a company later chooses a lower cost option (and) pockets the increased revenue from consumers.”
Guilbeault’s letter also made the point that refiners earned record amounts of money in 2022 and could afford to pay for the clean fuel changes, but his intervention may be too little too late.
The letter arrived a month after the board’s hearing into the issue had already concluded with no sign that the body is officially taking it into consideration.
As of Wednesday, it had not been added to the official record of the carbon cost adjustor matter.
Chiasson said all indications are double carbon charges are coming to New Brunswick July 1. The only question is how large the second of the two will be.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
