Environment Minister Timothy Halman says the province’s newest carbon pricing plan does not include a carbon tax—something he says would hurt people struggling to keep up with inflation.
The province’s initial carbon pricing plan was rejected by Ottawa and the latest plan was submitted on the federal government’s deadline today.
The province says it wants to have what’s being called an output-based pricing system, with mandatory performance standards that would currently only apply to Nova Scotia Power and the LaFarge Cement Plant near Halifax.
The standards are voluntary for facilities emitting less than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
If approved by Ottawa, the system would come into effect on January 1st.
Halman says if the federal government imposes a carbon tax on Nova Scotia, the province wants control over how the revenues are used.