WINNIPEG – With the release of their half-hearted Climate and Green Plan today, the Manitoba government has signalled that they have few conservation actions planned, and they will give tax breaks for big carbon emitters while the rest of Canadians are left to pay the tax to combat the quickly growing climate crisis.

 

“Pages and pages are filled with government actions that ‘could’ happen,” said Eric Reder, Wilderness and Water Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. “There are few actual commitments other than to subsidize our biggest emitters like the Koch brothers’ fertilizer plant, and exempting agriculture.”

 

Leaving out major emitters from a carbon tax removes the incentive to lower emissions, which is a key reason why a carbon tax is implemented in the first place. The decision not to ramp up the carbon tax in the future removes another key component of why a carbon tax exists. The motivation for people – and companies –  to emit less carbon is because it will become more costly.

 

The document delves into many possible actions on conservation and water protection, yet the government commits to none of them and offers no timelines at all.

 

“This is a fluffy document, with fancy graphics and blank pages,” said Reder. “It seems the government is saying it could do these things, but won’t commit to anything, and will just go back into hiding on the environment file. This is no way to lead.”

 

In a document full of inaccuracies, one of the worst suggestions is to implement Water Quality Trading for Lake Winnipeg, where one polluter is allowed to increase pollution if they pay someone else who decreases pollution.

 

“It is outrageous to think that with our great lake in peril and water issues rising everywhere, we would accept money to allow water pollution,” said Reder. “It is a horrific concept to put our water quality at the mercy of the economy.”

 

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For more information, please contact:

Eric Reder | Wilderness and Water Campaigner, Wilderness Committee

204-997-8584, eric@wildernesscommittee.org