Nunavut’s Conservative candidate blames carbon tax for raising cost of “absolutely everything”
Leona Aglukkaq speaks about her campaign promises for Nunavut
Leona Aglukkaq, Nunavut’s Conservative candidate, shows Conservative leader Andrew Scheer some plants in Iqaluit’s Sylvia Grinnell Park during his visit to the city on June 19. (Photo by Emma Tranter)
Nunavut’s Conservative candidate says that if her party forms the next government, they would eliminate the carbon tax because it “increased the cost of absolutely everything.”
Leona Aglukkaq is setting off on a campaign tour across the territory. The former Nunavut MP launched her campaign at an event in Iqaluit on Sept. 12 at the Frobisher Inn.
She then flew to Rankin Inlet the next day before returning to Iqaluit the following week. Nunatsiaq News sat down with Aglukkaq while she was in Iqaluit.
The carbon tax “has raised the cost of air travel, consumer goods, shipping, hunting and home ownership,” reads Aglukkaq’s campaign poster. Aglukkaq also told Nunatsiaq News the tax would negatively affect daycares and elders’ homes by increasing heating costs.
“Every business is impacted by a carbon tax.” Aglukkaq said. “Introducing a carbon tax while we have affordability issues is one side of the brain not talking to the other.”
But George Hickes, Nunavut’s finance minister, announced in May that through an agreement with Ottawa, electricity and aviation fuel for aircraft operating within the territory are exempt from the tax. The territorial government has also subsidized half the cost of the carbon tax for Nunavut residents.
Aglukkaq’s platform for Nunavut has four priorities: affordability, housing, mental health and infrastructure.
“How can we as a government and private sector and territorial government work together to address this huge issue of social housing needs throughout the North?”
The housing portion of Aglukkaq’s campaign priorities says she will develop a comprehensive strategy that includes transitional housing, elders’ housing and housing for those with special needs.
The federal and territorial governments also need to consider boosting private homeownership, she said.
Aglukkaq said she also promises to invest in northern infrastructure projects and mental health training for Nunavummiut.
“Nunavut is the largest coastal region of Canada and we still lag behind in adequate marine infrastructure in our region, so getting back on track with major investments of that nature in the North,” she said.
“We need to address the need of building capacity, of training Nunavummiut to provide mental health services to support our communities.”
When asked if she would make changes to the federal government’s Nutrition North program, Aglukkaq said the carbon tax has made food more expensive through increased shipping costs.
When asked if she thought the program was working and, if not, what she would do to fix it beyond scrapping the carbon tax, she said she would consult with the Nutrition North advisory committee. She said if the Conservatives formed government, that committee would remain in place.
“It’s important to have people on the ground from the North providing advice to the government on how to improve the program. It’s not a perfect program. Nothing is perfect in this world. We do need a subsidy in the North for food.”
Aglukkaq would not specifically say how she would address Nutrition North, but said a subsidy will still be needed on food and “removing is not an option.”
Recently, research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that food insecurity had actually worsened in Nunavut under Nutrition North, according to data from the Canadian Community Health Survey.
Aglukkaq said her former experience as minister of environment would help her address climate change and reduce emissions, but did not specifically say how.
She said she would also support the Kivalliq hydro-fibre link and the Grays Bay road and port in the Kitikmeot.
“Will we ever completely not depend on diesel anytime soon? No,” she said.
When Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer visited Iqaluit in June, he said the territory needs to develop its natural resources, something he said is “virtually impossible” under the current Liberal government.
Aglukkaq said she is confident the policies already in place to consult Inuit on natural resource development will decide what will be, and won’t be, developed.
“The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement explains how business gets done in the North…. The land claims agreement, in my view, is the most comprehensive environmental plan. It protects our land, it protects our waters, it protects our wildlife.
“It’s already set out in terms of how projects proceed. And that’s a constitutionally entrenched agreement that we should be very proud of. And decisions about the Arctic should be made by people of the Arctic, not Ottawa.”
Aglukkaq left the capital for Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay on Sept. 19, her office said. She also plans to make stops in Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River, before making stops in the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions.
That’s gonna be a no from me dawg
Ditto
Aglukkak has a proven track record of being a capable and trustworthy MP, and has served well in cabinet too. I wish her luck in the coming election!
To quote Leona Aglukkaq herself:
“THAT’S NOT TRUE!! THAAAAAT’S NOT TRUUUUUE!”
Of course, Leona doesn’t know, care, or want her constituents to know that the carbon tax was originally a Harper CPC idea re-packaged by the Liberal government to appeal to the center-right. All that matters is opposing everything the Liberals do, right?
The carbon tax isn’t perfect, and won’t “solve” climate change, but at least its a start. The CPC has no climate plan since many of their MPs don’t even believe climate change is real. Instead, they have some smoke and mirrors about investing tax-payer money in businesses who will, in their fantasy world, choose independently to reduce emissions.
In Nunavut of all places, where the permafrost is thawing, snowfalls are becoming inadequate to restock water supplies, and heat waves are hitting the north pole (!!), voting for a party with a strong climate change plan should be a top priority.
I agree with you for voting in a party that is for climate change planning. Sometimes politicians say something that they forget afterwards because they never go thru with what they are promising. I will be watching who has the best plan and who actually wants to take action and fight for the actions to be implemented.
“In Nunavut of all places… voting for a party with a strong climate change plan should be a top priority.”
i could not agree more. It is too bad our territory can’t produce a more notable Green Party candidate.
It’s sickening to see the Conservatives work with climate change deniers. ANY measure to fight climate change will result in increased costs for citizens. Conservatives are fighting the tax because it was implemented by the LiBuRaWls and they would rather replace it with nothing.
Leona: your party is so out of touch that the majority of young canadians think you’re revolting. It’s time you and your fellow tories come back to reality and start distancing yourselves from the alt right fringes. But we know you won’t do that right? Because you want to take those wacko votes from the PPC right? Shame on you.
If we have to pay to burn fossil fuel, then the revenues must be used to combat climate change. That is the only thing that makes the tax worthwhile.
The GN is being allowed by Ottawa to rebate 50% of the tax back to consumers. So, half the time, all that is happening is money and effort is being spent taking money out of your pocket and then putting it back. That is worse than futile.
Generating and Aviation fuel are huge burns in the Arctic. If they are exempted this amounts to free emissions to keep doing what we do now. This is not creating incentives and means to develop alternative energy and roads instead of runways. This is also not forward progress.
Whatever exemptions we may have, all of our southern suppliers are subject to the tax. Prices have no where else to go but up.
The Liberal carbon tax is deeply flawed. It should be eliminated because it is next to useless and worse, is convincing many Canadians that we are tackling carbon emissions when we are not.
We need a better way and the Conservatives should be trying harder to come up with that better alternative. Nunavummuit would and should be willing to take a financial hit if they knew it was really doing something about our climate impacts.
You’re incorrect that the rebates must be used to fight climate change in order to be effective. You’re assuming that consumption of fossil fuels is entirely an inelastic demand, which is not true. When you add a carbon tax, you’re adding a disincentive for those types of products and activities, even if you issue the revenue as a rebate.
.
For example, let’s say you live in a community of 100 people that all drive 100 cars 1km to work every day for a cost of $1. Now, government comes in and says they’re going to charge $100 carbon tax on you driving 1km, but they’re going to give back all the revenues in a rebate split over the entire population. Sure, all 100 people could continue to drive 100 cars 1km to work, for $101 now, but receive $100 back.
.
But then one person decides to walk to work for $0. Now, 99 people in the community drive 99 cars to work for $101, 1 person walks to work for $0, and all 100 people get $99 back. That one person is now way better off than they were before, because they chose to walk to work.
.
“Well wait a second”, says a second person. “I can walk 1km, too”. So then 98 people drive 98 cars 1km to work every day for $101, while 2 people walk for $0. All 100 people get $98 back.
.
“Wow, it’s now costing me $3 to drive 1km to work instead of the $1 it used to cost me, and Jenny and Tony are walking for free and getting paid out $98 every day!” says everyone else.
.
… I think you see where I’m going. Obviously this example is exaggerated, but on a large scale you can still see this effect.
Yes, fossil fuel use is elastic for activities that have viable, readily available options. For a typical Nunavut household, there are no viable options for the use of diesel for heat, electricity, aviation fuel for travel and receiving goods, or to run harvesting equipment. If it costs you $105 in gas to get a caribou instead of $100, you will invariably still go out, or suffer nutritionally. Putting food in your mouth, keeping from freezing and seeing in the dark are inelastic demands. Nunavut already has the lowest per-capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. We have no manufacturing, agriculture or oil sands. Carbon taxation for Nunavut is truly missing the mark if it does not address our community power stations or use of aircraft.
The carbon tax is a start but more needs to be done and the north should be part of this process. Don’t exempt anything from the carbon tax – people need to know that how they interact with the environment has a cost, and we do have to change how we live. All of us.
.
FFS we have one of the windiest places on Earth and exactly how many wind turbines are there? Almost every community is on the coast, where are the tidal energy turbines?
.
Others have already noted that Leona and the Conservatives are the worst people to vote for if you care about climate change. We already see that spring comes weeks earlier, winter weeks later, sea ice is the lowest it has been in recorded history.
.
Here’s something to think about. If all of the ice (Greenland, Antarctica, mountain glaciers) melted the sea level would rise by 70 meters.
.
How many Nunavut communities are below an elevation of 70 meters?
Every single one.
To address housing we have to look at the many different factors.
Make all homes rent to own the GN has to get out of the housing business altogether. The constant repair of tenent damage takes money and time away from fixing the abandoned houses in communites that need major repair.
The climate change crisis should not be an election issue – its a global, humanitarian issue pertaining to our existence.
If the carbon tax, which Leona has blown out of proportion, is what it takes to wake people up to the need for change, then tax away.
We don’t have the luxury of pretending this isn’t important any more, especially in the north where every person has a huge carbon footprint.
How in the world can a “global crisis,” which you describe as a threat to our existence, not be an election issue? Seriously?
All jet and diesel fuel has been exempted from the Carbon tax and the Liberals put in place a rebate structure that makes the remainder revenue neutral for everybody else so please tell us Leona how the carbon tax has made everything more expensive in Nunavut? Leona’s a typical Conservative who never lets the facts get in the way of a good story.
Unfortunately, the GN has not done a very good job at projecting impacts on households in Nunavut from implementing the federal backstop carbon tax. We can point to the GNWT who has done a fair analysis in a similar jurisdiction prior to implementing its own approach – https://www.fin.gov.nt.ca/en/implementing-carbon-pricing-nwt/impact-households/calculating-impacts-households. They forecast that the federal backstop would cost each household $665 per year directly, and within a range of $840 and $922 indirectly. We can probably consider these amount to be minimums for Nunavut given that the NWT has a highway system, forests etc. $1,500 per year per household is significant.
1.) Leona doesn’t, and hasn’t live/d in the arctic for so many years, I’ve lost track.
2.) The Conservatives don’t give a flying $#@% about climate change, won’t do anything about it, and WE will see the first hand effects.
3.) Andrew Scheer, the leader of the Conservatives, has wanted to defund CBC News, and therefore get rid of Igalaaq, since AT LEAST 2016. (ipolitics article goes in depth if you want to Google it)
It’s super weird seeing any Inuit support what the Conservatives have become.
Prices started going crazy under the Conservative government when Nutrition North was implemented by Leona. It’s the reason there are breakfast programs. lunch programs, soup kitchens, and organisations like Helping our Northern Neighbors,Church groups and other charitable groups, who send food North to people. And the dump is still the place to go to scavenge for food thrown out by the stores. Some dumps even have designated areas for food being thrown away. That was the conservative government legacy.
Jet fuel maybe Exempt but the fuel to get it to the jet and off the jet isn’t. The Carbon tax is the Liberals taxing the air we breath it will do nothing for climate change. To make a difference with climate change you must make laws about what companies are allowed produce not tax the general public.
Leona absolutely 100% has my support. She has a proven history as a fantastic representative for Nunavut, and actually got major projects done here. The Liberals have done absolutely nothing for Nunavut, and they must go. The last clown elected under the Liberal banner was an absolute embarrassment to Nunavummiut. We cannot afford another 4 years of Liberal lies!
Would love to know more about the major projects she got done?
This time Leona is going to do all the things she didn’t do in her previous long tenure. How nice! And she is going to come up with a good climate plan because she was environment minister once. Remember, when the conservatives muzzled scientists and didn’t allow them to publish their research? Yea, that’s climate leadership.
The carbon tax story is false.The liberals have made concessions to the North…
Considering the PC government BLANKED Nunavut in their budget for housing while last in office..and complain that housing in your mandate……doesn’t add up.
While i think Leona is a lovely person…I wont be basing my vote on that.
I would sooner vote a barking donkey than the regressive conservative party.
No way! I do not want to go backwards, she had her time and pretty much did not do anything but cut badly needed programs and only helped the rich, just keep reading your newspaper, I am voting younger and better.