Nova Scotia Greens call on McNeil government to continue talks on carbon pricing

October 04, 2016
(OTTAWA) – The McNeil government is rejecting climate change science by refusing to participate in talks with Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna. On Monday, Nova Scotia Environment Minister Margaret Miller ditched a meeting about the Trudeau government’s new carbon pricing scheme.

“Margaret Miller walking out of the climate talks shows that Nova Scotia Liberals are really climate change deniers,” said Thomas Trappenberg, Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia. “More than that, they even deny Nova Scotians a modern economy. Polluting our air for free and stating that clean energy is economically not viable is an affront and makes me wonder who is paying their bills.”

“By opting out of the dialogue meeting Minister Miller and her government have betrayed the young of Nova Scotia who will bare the brunt of climate change inaction,” said Richard Zurawski, the Green Party of Canada’s Climate Change Critic. “The science is clear. We must act now. Time has run out.”

“Ever since Premier McNeil stated that burning Cape Breton coal would be good for the environment because it is ‘local’, I have wondered ‎about the provincial Liberals grasp of the fundamentals of climate science,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands). “The federal proposal will return any pollution fees back to Nova Scotia. The provincial government could direct those funds to assist low income Nova Scotians to save fuel costs by better insulating homes, or any number of a range of programmes. Walking out is not constructive.”

Nova Scotia is so far refusing to participate in a carbon pricing plan. On Monday, the Trudeau government announced the national plan, setting the carbon price at $10 per tonne in 2018 and increasing to $50 per tonne by 2022.

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For additional information, please contact:

Thomas Trappenberg
Leader | Chef
Green Party of Nova Scotia | Parti vert de la Nouvelle-Écosse
leader@greendpartyns.ca

Dan Palmer
Press Secretary | Attaché de presse
Green Party of Canada | Parti vert du Canada
dan.palmer@greenparty.ca
m: (613) 614-4916