Plan is to make Manitoba the cleanest and greenest province
Our government’s Manitoba Climate and Green Plan supports our vision to make Manitoba the cleanest and greenest province in Canada, and we have proposed legislation to make this vision a reality.
The Climate and Green Plan Implementation Act provides a made-in-Manitoba blueprint for a prosperous green economy and for protection of our water and ecosystems, while addressing climate change. The legislation includes a flat carbon price of $25 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions, all of which will be returned to Manitobans in tax cuts during the next four years. The Manitoba carbon levy will be half of the federal carbon tax of $50 per tonne, will apply to fuel products and will be administered through the existing fuel tax system when it takes effect on Sept. 1, 2018.
Emissions limits for regulated industrial facilities will be part of the legislation, and operators will be held accountable if they exceed them. However, the Manitoba carbon levy will not apply to marked fuel products or specific uses of propane in farming, mining, commercial fishing and forestry. Certain operations of hospitals and municipalities will also be exempt.
All revenue from the levy will remain in Manitoba to be spent on Manitobans’ priorities, and will be fully recycled back to households over the next four years through tax relief that’s unprecedented in our province. With Budget 2018, we are raising the basic personal exemption on income tax by $1,010 in 2019 with a plan for another $1,010 increase in 2020, for a tax cut of $155 million. We are also raising the small business tax threshold to $500,000, delivering a $7-million tax reduction. And our government will return more than $300 million to Manitobans when we reduce the retail sales tax to seven per cent by 2020.
The Manitoba carbon price will achieve more reductions in emissions than the federal carbon tax and will stimulate innovation and jobs, balancing our environmental and economic realities. Our levy will create new initiatives including a $40-million Climate and Green Fund for projects such as energy efficiency, active transportation and wetland restoration, as well as an advisory council on adapting to climate change.
With Budget 2018, our government has also established the $102-million Conservation Trust for future green projects.
Keeping with our vision for a cleaner and greener province, our Climate and Green Plan will strengthen Manitoba’s economy and sustain our environment for generations to come.
Greg Nesbitt is the Member of Legislative Assembly for the Riding Mountain constituency. He can be reached at 204-759-3313, toll-free 1-844-877-7767 or by email at gregnesbittmla@mymts.net.