Manitoba sets own carbon tax scheme.

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Meeshika Sharma
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JASON HALSTEAD / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister takes part in a pre-budget consultation press conference at the Manitoba legislature building on Oct. 24, 2017.

Manitoba's government has made public its own plan to fight climate change, saying the federal government's target for a carbon price would "impose an intolerable financial burden on Manitoba families and businesses.

The proposed plan still needs to be voted on in the legislature, but is expected to be passed as Pallister's government holds a large majority.

Manitoba Premier, Brian William Pallister announced  "made in Manitoba" plan today morning, that would set a carbon price of $25 per tonne — half the federal government's target of $50 per tonne by 2022.

He said, "Our lower carbon price respects the massive hydro investments Manitobans have made over decades to build one of the cleanest electricity systems in the world."

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The tax would add about five cents a litre to the price of gasoline and also increase the cost of natural gas and coal. The government says a couple with two children would pay about $356 a year more than they do now.

Pallister's government believes that from 2018 to 2022, its strategy "will achieve more than twice as many emissions reductions as the federal carbon tax."

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The Manitoba plan also sets new initiatives to protect wetlands and watersheds, water quality, and wild species and habitats. Low carbon economy jobs would be encouraged through green infrastructure, clean technology, innovation financing, and skills and training.

 

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