CPA to file comments on changes to carbon levy
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On March 19, the federal government indicated that it is seeking further stakeholder comment on refinements to the Carbon Pollution Pricing System - otherwise known as the federal carbon levy or the “backstop” - which affects CPA Members in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
In a March 7 letter to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, CPA President Nathalie St-Pierre made it clear that changes are urgently needed to the application of the federal carbon levy, particularly in regard to the fact that propane was not given the same exemption as gasoline and diesel for agriculture applications despite being a much cleaner burning fuel.
In response to feedback from the CPA and other stakeholders, the government is proposing further refinements to the federal carbon pollution pricing system.
The current draft regulations include:
- expanding the previously announced proposed fuel charge relief for remote power plant operators that generate electricity for remote communities to also include relief for marketable natural gas;
- providing a rebate for registered distributors of the fuel charge for fuel that is delivered to, and subsequently exported from Canada by, non-registered, non-resident persons, subject to certain conditions;
- facilitating the integration with the federal fuel charge of facilities that are covered by the provincial output-based performance standards system in Saskatchewan; and
- expanding relief of the fuel charge for farmers, such that a registered distributor can deliver, without the fuel charge applying, gasoline and light fuel oil (e.g., diesel) to a farmer at a cardlock facility, subject to certain conditions.
The CPA believes the current draft regulations do not recognize the importance of low-emission propane to Canada’s agriculture sector or to rural and remote communities. The CPA will address those concerns in its formal submission to the Department of Finance, which will be filed by April 19. The complete copy of the draft regulations amending the fuel charge regulations can be found here.
