Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Carbon pricing rebates land in bank accounts as Liberals defend embattled policy

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Oct, 2024 10:20 AM
  • Carbon pricing rebates land in bank accounts as Liberals defend embattled policy

Canadians are set to receive carbon pricing rebates Tuesday, as the Liberals defend one of their most embattled policies.

The government says this is the first time all banks will label the payment as the Canada Carbon Rebate, after years of inconsistent and vague phrasing on bank statements.

The quarterly rebate will go to Canadians who filed their income tax while living in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and all four Atlantic provinces.

The payments vary by household size and province, while those in rural areas get a top-up.

On Tuesday, rural residents will get a boost in their quarterly rebate, with a 20-per-cent top-up along with a retroactive 10-per-cent payment for April and July.

Economists are widely in favour of carbon pricing, arguing it is the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions, but the Liberals' policy is facing pushback at the provincial and federal levels, with the Conservatives calling for a "carbon-tax election" to bring down the cost of living.

The federal NDP and some of their provincial counterparts have distanced themselves from the policy which they previously supported.

Ottawa sends the rebates to offset what people pay in carbon pricing when they buy fuel so they're not less worse off as a result.

People who do things to lower their fuel use are even better off, because they still get the same rebate but pay less in carbon pricing.

British Columbia, Quebec and Northwest Territories have their own carbon pricing system for consumers so residents there don't receive the federal payment. Yukon and Nunavut use the federal system but have an agreement to distribute the proceeds themselves.

The parliamentary budget officer says most Canadians get back more from the rebates than they pay. 

He also says, though, that the economic impact of carbon pricing could lower wages over time, erasing that benefit for some Canadians. The government argues that climate change itself can cause economic harm if it is left unchecked.

Ottawa has been battling with banks about how the deposits are labelled since they moved to quarterly payments for the rebates in 2022.

Many Canadians were confused — or didn't even realize they were getting a rebate — when payments showed up with vague labels like "EFT deposit from Canada," "EFT Credit Canada" or just "federal payment."

Some banks previously argued the term "Canada Carbon Rebate" went beyond their 15-character limit on deposit descriptions.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded
When Canada's spy chief wrote a secret letter to the public safety minister last December — the week after a report emerged that two young women in the service had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague — it came with a warning. David Vigneault, then director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told Dominic LeBlanc that he expected "more cases to surface in the coming weeks," and that he had to be "transparent" about this with the minister 

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire
RCMP say they've put significant resources toward investigating the death of a person found after they responded to a fire by a rural road east of Calgary. Mounties were called early on Wednesday morning to a report of a fire on the side of a rural road in Rocky View County.

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night. 

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

2 in hospital in double stabbing in Surrey

2 in hospital in double stabbing in Surrey
Surrey R-C-M-P say they are investigating a double stabbing that sent two men to hospital. R-C-M-P say officers responded to a report of a fight on September 10th at an intersection where they found two man being stabbed. 

2 in hospital in double stabbing in Surrey

Kelowna coin collection theft

Kelowna coin collection theft
The Kelowna R-C-M-P says it is looking for the rightful owner of a rare coin collection that was recovered during a traffic stop. They say the collection holds several collector's coins from over the years and police are certain someone in the community is missing them.

Kelowna coin collection theft

Mounties say there's no evidence Lytton wildfire was arson, cause unknown

Mounties say there's no evidence Lytton wildfire was arson, cause unknown
Mounties in British Columbia say there's no evidence that the devastating fire that swept through the community of Lytton more than three years ago was arson. Police have concluded their investigation into the June 2021 wildfire, saying they can't pinpoint the cause of the blaze that killed two people and wiped out much of the village and part of the First Nation, a day after a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 C was set in Lytton.

Mounties say there's no evidence Lytton wildfire was arson, cause unknown