Municipalities should get carbon tax, poll finds

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This article was published 19/02/2018 (2255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two-thirds of Manitobans support the stance the municipalities should receive 50 per cent to 100 per cent of revenue from the province’s upcoming carbon tax, a new poll says.

“Those numbers are convincing,” Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) president Chris Goertzen said Tuesday, addressing a recent Probe Research poll of 1,000 Manitobans.

Premier Brian Pallister’s proposed green plan will charge $25 a tonne for emissions, which Goertzen said will produce $260 million annually in carbon taxes.

“Municipalities are at the front line, and they are the stewards of the environment,” the mayor of Steinbach told reporters.

The Probe Research poll conducted between Nov. 23 and Dec. 14, 2017, found 11 per cent of respondents want all of the carbon tax to go to the municipalities, 20 per cent want an undefined “most of it” to be handed over, and 36 per cent favour “about half” of the revenue to be shared.

Fifteen per cent said less than half should go to municipalities, six per cent said none, and 11 per cent were unsure.

The AMM said 74 per cent of rural residents favour municipalities getting half or more of carbon tax revenues, and 64 per cent of Winnipeg residents, but did not release any other gender, income, age, or education breakdown of the data.

“Clearly, we see Manitobans want a partnership with municipalities,” Goertzen said, adding the AMM does not have an estimate of how much in carbon taxes its 137 municipalities will pay.

Flood mitigation and public transportation should be funded by carbon taxes, the AMM president said.

“Most municipalities have some form of public transportation: it may be handi-vans, or it may be a full transit system,” Goertzen said, adding every community has flood mitigation costs.

Also, with provincial funding frozen at 2016 levels, “Offsetting Manitoba Hydro rate increases for municipalities should also be considered,” Goertzen said.

In response, Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires issued a statement Tuesday.

“We look forward to sharing more details of our made-in-Manitoba climate and green plan, including how the carbon price revenue will be invested, with Manitobans in the coming weeks,” she said.

“Having said that, our government has lowered taxes on Manitobans and we intend to continue to lower taxes. Our focus is on putting money back on the kitchen table to help Manitobans and strengthen our economy.”

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca