Liberal leadership hopeful Clark says she would scrap carbon tax, denies Conservative membership
CBC
Former B.C. premier Christy Clark says she would scrap the federal carbon tax if she becomes the next Liberal leader and prime minister — and is denying that she was ever a member of the Conservative Party.
Clark told CBC Radio's The House that she is "seriously thinking about" running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and would end one of his key environmental policies if she is successful in winning the leadership.
"I don't think we should keep the carbon tax that the federal government has. I think that the Trudeau carbon tax isn't working," she told host Catherine Cullen in an interview airing Saturday.
Clark's comments come after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre billed the former premier as "carbon tax Clark" and the "carbon tax queen" during a press conference on Thursday.
Clark kept the B.C. carbon tax in place that was implemented by her predecessor, Gordon Campbell, in 2008. While the tax was initially meant to increase over time, Clark's government froze the price at $30 per tonne in 2012 after she took over leadership. The current federal levy is $80 a tonne and set to increase to $95 in April.
"A carbon tax isn't the only answer to fighting climate change. There is a whole range of other tools in the toolbox and we would be committing to figuring out which tools we want to put to work, but also with a mind to making sure that they aren't things that will hold people back, that will hurt our economy," Clark told Cullen.
The former B.C. premier also denied ever having been a member of the federal Conservatives, even though she previously endorsed former Quebec premier and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Jean Charest's bid for that party's leadership in 2022.
Clark told Cullen that she endorsed Charest because she didn't want Poilievre to win, but that she never formally signed up with the party to vote for him.
"I never got a membership and I never got a ballot," she said.
"I came out and I supported Jean Charest and the reason I did this is simple: I thought it was vitally important that we stopped Pierre Poilievre."
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party refuted Clark's claims, saying they have records of Clark's membership from the 2022 leadership race.
"Christy Clark purchased a Conservative Party membership through Jean Charest's leadership campaign. That membership is no longer active," Sarah Fischer, the party's director of communications, said in an email.
When asked about Fischer's statement, Clark pushed back and insisted she had never been a member.
"Why don't they come out and show my membership or my ballot? They never sent me any of those — although I wouldn't put it past them to manufacture one of them," Clark told Cullen.
The family of a Toronto man with a serious mental illness says he was left unconscious and on life support after he was involved in a violent clash with police at the end of December.
Toronto police have charged a 29-year-old woman with aggravated assault and two counts of arson after a man was found stabbed in a burning apartment unit on Friday morning.
A Nunavut researcher says more money and research is needed to understand how the availability of country food in Inuit communities is changing because of the warming climate.
This story deals with suicide. If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual extortion, or is struggling with mental health, you can find resources for help at the bottom of this story.
This First Person column is the experience of Mark Datoc, who lives in Calgary. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it.
Advocates working to fight homelessness say a report released this week by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) confirms the reality they see on a daily basis, and highlights the challenges they've worked for years to make known to decision makers.
A series of rare photographs of rural Newfoundland were discovered in rural Ontario, but their true origins have opened up a bit of a mystery.
Sudbury's poet laureate, Alex Tétrault, was recently named one of 10 newsmakers of the year by Franco Presse, a publication focused on francophone communities outside of Quebec.
Ayah Fahmy recalls parking in a mostly empty lot at the Cobequid Community Health Centre in Lower Sackville and not understanding why she had to pay a fee.
More birds are making the trip north to New Brunswick this winter than usual, but the reasons probably aren't good.
CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the 2024 Black Changemakers.