Official N.B. government site on carbon taxes slammed for exaggerations, omissions
CBC
An official New Brunswick government web page set up to inform the general public about federal carbon taxes exaggerates costs that average consumers are likely to experience this year.
It also makes no direct mention of carbon rebates that will help offset those costs, even though that is a central feature of Canada's two-part carbon tax and rebate program.
Moe Qureshi, director of climate research with the New Brunswick Conservation Council, says any member of the public trying to become informed about how carbon taxes work would end up misinformed — if they relied solely on the official information being provided by the province.
"It's only telling half a story and half a story that's a bit exaggerated," said Qureshi in an interview.
"Even if the province disagrees with the carbon tax, I do think it's their responsibility to present the information as accurately and as transparently as possible."
The New Brunswick government under Premier Blaine Higgs has been a staunch opponent of the Canadian government's carbon pricing policy for several years.
The federal scheme involves taxing fossil fuel consumption to discourage its use and then rebating amounts collected back to consumers and businesses to offset the costs of paying the tax.
To promote its view of that federal program to the public, the province maintains a web page about the policy to explain what it says is "the federal carbon tax impact" on New Brunswick consumers.
However, there are questions about both the accuracy and completeness of the information the province has been communicating to the public.
Liberty Utilities is the natural gas distribution company in New Brunswick.
According to the company, a claim on the province's web page that the average residential gas user will pay $403.36 in carbon charges and sales taxes on those charges this year is 30 per cent too high.
Liberty is currently in front of the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board for a review of its rates and charges.
Evidence it has submitted for that hearing shows the company's average residential customer is expected to consume 66 gigajoules of natural gas this year, well below the 86 gigajoules used by the province in its carbon tax calculations for natural gas usage on its web page.
"Liberty estimates that the price of carbon charges for a residential customer using natural gas in 2024/25 will be $271 ($311.65 including HST)," said Liberty's Nadine Chiasson in a statement sent to CBC News about what its own numbers show.
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