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Rebates rise as carbon price increases to $80 per tonne – CBC.ca

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The federal carbon tax and its associated rebates rise today as the national price on carbon emissions increases from $65 per tonne to $80.

While the national carbon price applies across the country, not everyone pays the federal carbon tax and receives money back.

Carbon pricing works differently in Quebec, the three territories and British Columbia — residents don’t receive federal rebates. The remaining provinces are subject to the federal government’s carbon tax or fuel levy, and families or residents receive rebates from Ottawa.

Canada also has a mix of federal, provincial and territorial carbon pricing systems for industrial emitters.

Starting today, the federal carbon tax increase will cost drivers an extra 3.3 cents per litre at the pump. Since Ottawa’s fuel levy was introduced in 2019, the carbon tax has added 17.6 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline. The levies for other fuels can be found online.

The rebates — recently rebranded as the Canadian Carbon Rebate — also have increased along with the carbon price, says Finance Canada. To receive the rebate, you need to file an income tax return. The rebate arrives through direct deposit in your bank account or through a cheque in the mail.

The payments come every three months; the next one is scheduled to arrive as early as April 15.

Here are the amounts a single adult person can expect to receive quarterly:

  • $225 in Alberta.
  • $150 in Manitoba.
  • $140 in Ontario.
  • $188 in Saskatchewan.
  • $95 in New Brunswick.
  • $103 in Nova Scotia.
  • $110 in Prince Edward Island.
  • $149 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Here are the amounts a family of four can expect to receive quarterly:

  • $450 in Alberta.
  • $300 in Manitoba.
  • $280 in Ontario.
  • $376 in Saskatchewan.
  • $190 in New Brunswick.
  • $206 in Nova Scotia.
  • $220 in Prince Edward Island.
  • $298 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Rural residents get a 10 per cent top-up on their rebates because they tend to drive more and consume more fuel. That rural top-up will double once a bill now before Parliament becomes law.

Nova Scotia, P.E.I, and Newfoundland and Labrador, however, will see their rebates decrease after Ottawa exempted home heating oil from the carbon tax. In October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government will pause for three years the carbon pricing scheme on home heating oil in the provinces and territories where the carbon levy applies.

While New Brunswick is not seeing a drop in rebate amounts, other Atlantic provinces are because Ottawa is collecting less money from these provinces that tend to be more reliant on furnace oil than other parts of the country. 

All the money that’s directly collected by the federal carbon pricing system, the federal government said, is returned to the province or territory where it’s collected. About 90 per of the federal carbon tax goes towards rebates. The remainder goes to Indigenous communities, farmers and businesses.

National carbon pricing, a core federal Liberal climate policy, faces mounting opposition. Before Monday’s rise, the opposition Conservatives and at least seven premiers called on the government to halt the increase. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says if he forms government he will “axe the tax,” because of the financial hardship the rising carbon price places on families and businesses. 

It’s unclear if a future federal Conservative government would also get rid of carbon pricing for industrial emitters. Poilievre has not detailed how his proposal to use “technology not taxes” would ensure Canada achieves its emissions reduction targets.

The federal government says eight out of 10 families receive more in rebates than they pay under the carbon tax. The total amounts also can be found online.

A fiscal analysis by the independent parliamentary budget officer backs Ottawa’s claim. The budget watchdog’s often-cited report found wealthy families will lose money when the carbon price reaches its highest level in 2030-31 at $170 per tonne. Lower and middle-income families will make money from the rebates, said the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).

WATCH | Got questions about the carbon tax? We’ve got answers:   

Carbon tax crash course: How it works and what it will cost you

3 days ago

Duration 6:16

With Canada’s carbon tax set to increase again on April 1, many Canadians have been asking questions about how it works and what the increase will cost. CBC’s David Thurton breaks down the policy, the price and the rebates.

The PBO also concluded in a separate economic analysis that at $170 per tonne, the federal carbon tax will cut jobs and profits in the transport and oil and gas sectors. This means workers in the oilpatch could lose their jobs and Canadians who hold shares in oil companies like Suncor or Cenovus could see lower investment returns.

Are emissions falling because of the carbon tax?

After several years of the national carbon price. Environment and Climate Change Canada said its modelling shows Canada’s emissions would have been higher without carbon pricing.

The federal department said that in the latest year for emissions data (2021), emissions “would have been approximately 18 megatonnes higher in the absence of Canada’s carbon pricing plan.” That figure is almost equivalent to the annual emissions of Manitoba.

“Changing the energy system in an economy is a lot like sort of steering a cargo ship. It does take time,” said Sara Hastings-Simon, an associate professor at the University of Calgary’s faculty of science who studies carbon pricing and energy transitions.

“So we are just starting to see those, the results of those efforts and that … if we can continue on that path, if we continue to have the suite of climate policies that we have in place, we will continue to see those emissions starting to fall from where they would have been and actually fall in an absolute sense.”

The federal government has said that the price on carbon, including consumer and industrial carbon pricing, is expected to account for roughly one-third of Canada’s emissions reductions.

Independent analysis from the Canadian Climate Institute, released in March, shows that the current suite of federal government climate policies is set to significantly reduce Canada’s emissions.

The report found that carbon pricing — both the consumer and industrial versions — is projected to reduce emissions by as much as 50 per cent by 2030.

The report shows the pricing policy for large emitters accounts for most of the projected emissions cuts — driving three times the emissions reductions attributed to the consumer carbon price.

WATCH | Clarifying a carbon tax analysis:   

Parliamentary budget officer says carbon tax ‘least disruptive’ way to reduce emissions

11 days ago

Duration 10:59

The parliamentary budget officer looked into the impact carbon pricing has on Canadian households. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives have been using his findings to their advantage. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux joined Power & Politics to clarify.

The institute’s report says industrial carbon pricing is projected to contribute “between 23 and 39 per cent (or 53 to 90 megatonnes) of avoided emissions from all policies implemented to date.”

The report says the consumer carbon price accounts for between 8 and 9 per cent (or 19 to 22 megatonnes) of projected emissions reductions.

The Canadian Climate Institute conducts climate change policy research. It describes itself as a non-partisan and independent institute that receives financial support from Environment and Climate Change Canada and other private donors including the Ivey Foundation, Scotiabank and Loblaws. 

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Safety board calls for changes two years after Nova Scotia fisherman’s death at sea

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HALIFAX – An investigation into how the Canadian Coast Guard responded to a Nova Scotia vessel in distress two years ago raises questions about why one fisherman died after a towing operation went awry. 

In an investigation report released Thursday, the Transportation Safety Board says the fishing boat Mucktown Girl was returning to Canso, N.S., with five crew aboard on March 11, 2022, when it was disabled by electrical problems. 

The captain called for a tow from the coast guard as a storm was closing in.

After a seven-hour voyage, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Jean Goodwill reached the drifting boat and attached a 300-metre tow line to the smaller vessel’s bollard. But as the weather turned rough, the bollard broke off six hours into the recovery mission.

At that point, the decision was made to let the fishing crew ride out the storm aboard the Mucktown Girl rather than attach another tow line that could damage the boat.

By 6 a.m. on March 13, wind speeds had reached 70 to 90 kilometres per hour. The waves were as high as 10 metres — twice the height of the fishing boat, which was then taking on water. Crew aboard Jean Goodwill relayed the mayday distress call from the fishing boat, which was 44 kilometres from shore.

Minutes later, amid heavy rain and dense fog, the five fishermen donned immersion suits and jumped into a life raft. In response, the coast guard crew lowered a scramble net — a type of rope ladder — over the side of the 77-metre medium icebreaker. 

But the water was so rough, the net was washed back onto the ship several times. And as the ship rolled in the big swells, two coast guard crew members were injured and a number of others were almost swept overboard.

“As a result of the environmental conditions, communications broke down and affected the co-ordination of the (rescue effort),” the report says.

At the time, the air temperature was about 12 C, but the water temperature was only 4 C.

Four of the fishermen, including the captain, jumped from the life raft into the frothing water and managed to climb the ladder to safety. But the fifth crewman, 35-year-old Jeremy Hart of Windsor Junction, N.S., drifted to the stern of the coast guard ship and disappeared.

The father of two boys was pulled from the water five hours later by the crew aboard a Cormorant search and rescue helicopter, but he was later declared dead at a Cape Breton hospital.

The report from the independent safety board says there are no Canadian regulations for the towing points on fishing vessels.  

“Without specific guidance for assessing the risks to the towed vessel and its crew, the (coast guard) may underestimate risks and tow vessels with crew on board in hazardous conditions, resulting in an increased likelihood of injuries and loss of life,” the report says. 

But the report does not call for any changes, aside from updating the coast guard’s towing waiver, which explains the responsibilities of those involved and the risks.

More importantly, the report highlights the fact that once the bollard broke, it became clear there were no plans in place to remove the crew from the fishing boat.

“Without comprehensive contingency planning for towing disabled vessels, risks to rescuers as well as crews of vessels under tow may be increased,” the report says.

The safety board’s investigation found that the coast guard’s search and rescue (SAR) training typically involves the use of small, fast-rescue craft rather than larger vessels like the Jean Goodwill. 

“There is limited vessel-specific SAR training such as the use of scramble nets,” the report says. “(This) training does not reflect the realistic conditions and equipment in a rescue operation, where factors can change unpredictably. For example, training is carried out in good weather only, and in … overboard exercises, only one person at a time needs rescue.”

As for the scramble net, the report says it was not suitable for the deplorable conditions that faced the coast guard crew in 2022.

“Although scramble nets do not have specified restrictions for use, they are difficult to climb in rough conditions,” the board says. “They are also difficult to climb in an immersion suit, even in calm weather, and are not usable if a person is injured or incapacitated.”

That’s why the coast guard has already installed a so-called rescue scoop on the Jean Goodwill. The hydraulic device uses an extendable arm to dip a scramble net into the water on its side, allowing the operator to scoop up victims.

The device has been used on other coast guard vessels in the past, and the federal agency is looking at acquiring more. 

“Without emergency drills using realistic scenarios, and their subsequent evaluation, vessel crews may not have the most effective equipment and may not be well prepared to use it in the safest and most effective manner,” the report says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.



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Alberta pitches new rules for auto insurance, including rate hikes, no-fault claims

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EDMONTON – The Alberta government is making changes to auto insurance, including rate hikes and switching to a predominantly no-fault claims model.

Premier Danielle Smith announced the changes at a news conference in the legislature.

Under the new system, car accident victims in most cases won’t be able to sue the party responsible for their injury and, instead, insurers would pay compensation at rates set by the government. 

By cutting down litigation costs, the government estimates that when the new system is in place in 2027, it could lead to savings of up to $400 per year for the average insurance premium. 

It’s also promising better support and benefits for those hurt in collisions. 

Until the new model kicks in, insurers would be allowed to raise rates for good drivers up to 7.5 per cent each year, starting in January. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Third deer infected with chronic wasting disease in B.C.

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VICTORIA – A new case of chronic wasting disease, an incurable illness that has the potential to decimate deer populations, has been identified in British Columbia. 

The B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says the discovery of the infection in a white-tailed deer hunted in the Kootenay region last month brings the total number of confirmed cases in the province to three, after two cases were confirmed in February. 

It says testing by a Canadian Food Inspection Agency lab confirmed the latest infection on Wednesday.

The ministry says the new case occurred within two kilometres of one of the earlier infections in a white-tailed deer near Cranbrook.

Wasting disease affects deer, elk, moose and caribou. It attacks their central nervous system and causes cell death in the brain.

The ministry says there is no treatment or vaccine and the disease is always fatal.

The ministry says there is no direct evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans, but Health Canada recommends people do not eat meat from an infected animal, since cooking is not able to destroy the abnormal protein that causes the illness. 

In July, the B.C. government introduced mandatory testing for the disease in deer, elk and moose killed in certain zones in the Kootenay region.

The first two cases identified in B.C. were a male mule deer killed by a hunter and a female white-tailed deer killed in a road accident.

Other steps included removing urban deer from Cranbrook and Kimberley.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024. 

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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