On March 27, 2018, the federal government’s omnibus Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No 1 received second Reading in the House of Commons. Part 5 of the Bill enacts the Greenhouse Gas Pollution pricing Act - sometimes referred to as the government’s ‘backstop’ legislation - which, along with its companion Fuel Charge Regulation, is designed to apply to provinces and territories without their own carbon pricing plans or with a plan that fails to meet the federal government’s standards. The proposed legislation sets federal tax rates for various types of fossil fuels used for combustion in transportation, heating, electricity, manufacturing and industry, such as gasoline, diesel, propane and natural gas, that will be paid by fuel producers, distributors and importers. Details on the registration of producers, distributors and others are included, as well as reporting periods, rebates, remittance of the tax and penalties.
The tax will be based on the carbon emissions from combusting the fuel or waste and is set to start at $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions on January 1, 2019, and then rise by $10 per tonne each year until it hits $50 per tonne in 2023.
The proposed law also includes an output-based pricing system for large carbon emitters where instead of paying the tax they will pay for carbon emissions that are above national averages in their industry.
For more details, access the Bill at:
http://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-74/first-reading
Canadian Water and Wastewater Association