Carbon tax: Bloc says federal government owes Quebecers $814 million

The Bloc Québécois is asking the Carney government to pay $814 million to Quebec taxpayers to account for the carbon tax rebate to other provinces.

This is one of six “essential” demands made by the sovereigntist party in order to support the next federal budget, scheduled for November 4.

“The issue of carbon tax rebates is a matter of basic fairness,” insisted Bloc finance spokesperson Jean-Denis Garon at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The Carney government has ended the carbon tax. Canadians in most provinces received an advance refund before the election campaign began, but the carbon tax revenues related to this rebate were never collected because the tax was abolished.

However, Quebec, which has its own system, was not eligible for this rebate, nor was British Columbia.

The Bloc considers that the federal government has used all taxpayers’ money to “buy votes,” without Quebecers being entitled to a refund.

“If the federal government decides to send out checks in the middle of an election campaign, they must send them to all Canadians, and they must send them to Quebecers,” said Garon.

In April, the National Assembly unanimously passed a motion requesting that Quebec taxpayers also receive their share of the refund.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had a different interpretation of the situation last June during question period in the House of Commons.

According to him, the last carbon tax payment should only be made to residents of provinces that do not have their own pollution pricing system. “It’s not unfair, it’s consistent,” he said.

The Liberals need the support of at least three opposition MPs to avoid losing the confidence of the House and having to call an election.

However, Garon said that “outstretched hands” to the Bloc to obtain its support were “rather rare.”

“We have the impression that the path to obtaining the Bloc Québécois’ vote would be very narrow and very difficult to achieve,” Garon said.

In a written statement, the office of Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne did not respond to questions about whether the government had approached opposition parties to negotiate their support for the budget, or whether it was open to the Bloc’s demands.

The minister’s press secretary, John Fragos, said that the 2025 budget will encourage economic growth and propose ways to “resolutely address a generational threat” (the context of trade tensions with the United States).

“We look forward to tabling the budget on November 4 and giving opposition parties the opportunity to support generational investments in Canada,” he commented.

Garon presented the Bloc’s 18 demands at a press conference in Ottawa.

He mentioned that six demands were “non-negotiable,” including the carbon tax rebate.

Among its non-negotiable demands, the Bloc is calling for a 10 per cent increase in the Old Age Security (OAS) benefit for seniors aged 65 to 74, which would bring their benefit to the same level as that of Canadians aged 75 and over. The Bloc estimates that the measure would cost $14.2 billion over five years.

The Bloc is also calling for an unconditional increase in health transfers of $11.76 billion over five years. It is proposing an interest-free loan program for first-time homebuyers, continued funding for social housing, and the creation of a new, unconditional transfer for infrastructure.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews