Just days before a federally imposed deadline, Manitoba has joined the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
On Friday Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Manitoba’s Minister of Sustainable Development announced Manitoba will be part of the federal-provincial-territorial plan to address climate change and support clean economic growth.
Manitoba Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires says this will allow Manitoba to work cooperatively with other provinces, territories and the federal government on ways to reduce climate change and give Manitoba access to federal funding.
Accessing the money available to Manitoba via the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund will help us in our efforts to ensure Manitoba is the cleanest, greenest and most climate resilient province in Canada. The fund will support our made in Manitoba climate and green plan which sets out a realistic and practical made in Manitoba solution to climate change that respects our clean energy investments, supports our economy and actually reduces emissions.
Manitobans believe in doing our share as Canadians to address climate change and we have always agreed with the principles of the Pan-Canadian approach to clean growth and climate change as set out in this framework but we firmly disagreed with the federal approach to carbon pricing and with a rising carbon price to 50 dollars per tonne. Adopting the pan Canadian framework today does not require us to agree to or adopt the federal price schedule.
These are separate considerations. We will continue to stand behind our made in Manitoba approach as being the best way to reduce emissions in our province, one that recognizes the billions of dollars in clean hydro electricity investments we have already made and one that allows Manitobans to decide where its carbon revenues should go, not Ottawa. Our approach will reduce emissions more that the federal approach and cost Manitobans less in doing so.
Rochelle Squires-Sustainable Development Minister-Manitoba
Squires says adopting the Pan-Canadian Framework will ensure Manitoba receives its equitable allocation of federal funds to help adapt to climate change but does not require Manitoba to adopt the federal carbon price schedule.
