Higgs says no progress on carbon tax and other issues after meeting with Trudeau
OTTAWA — New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says his latest meeting with the prime minister produced little or no progress on major issues facing his province.
Higgs met with Justin Trudeau on Tuesday in Ottawa, but the premier said there was no movement on the contentious issue of the federal government’s carbon tax.
New Brunswick is an intervener in legal challenges launched by Saskatchewan and Ontario and has launched its own legal challenge of the carbon tax.
Higgs said New Brunswick industries aren’t getting credit for the work already done to reduce emissions. He added the federal backstop — the tax Ottawa will impose in provinces without their own carbon taxes — puts his province at a disadvantage, and if it remains in place, New Brunswickers will be paying the highest tax on gasoline by 2022.