Canadian Taxpayers Federation corrects the record: B.C. CO2 emissions are rising

REGINA, SK.: Appearing before the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal as part of the Saskatchewan government's constitutional challenge to the Trudeau carbon tax, federal government lawyers today attacked the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's court submission that carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise in British Columbia even though British Columbians already pay the highest carbon taxes in Canada.

"It is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact: despite having the highest carbon tax in Canada, CO2 emissions in British Columbia are rising, not falling," said Todd MacKay, Prairie Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The most recent data available from the B.C. government, shows that for the second year in a row, CO2 emissions in the province have risen, from 61.3 million tonnes in 2015 to 62.3 million tonnes in 2016. This represents an increase of 1.5 per cent, and the fifth increase in the last six years to 2016. Last year, the Sierra Club observed that B.C.'s CO2 emissions were increasing and called B.C.'s highest carbon tax in Canada a "token effort." B.C. currently has the highest carbon tax in Canada at $35 per tonne, set to rise to $40 per tonne later this year. For more information, please contact: Todd MacKay--CTF Prairie Director---tmackay@taxpayer.com