Liberal leadership candidate Frank Bayliss says simply eliminating the consumer carbon tax “will not solve the affordability problem for Canadians.”
“Anyone who sells Canadians that it doesn’t cost anything to clean our air is not being honest and upfront with Canadians,” Bayliss said in an interview with CTV’s Power Play on Tuesday.
Mr. Bayliss is the first person to publicly confirm his intention to run for Liberal leader, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he would step down as Liberal leader and prime minister once the party names a replacement.
Asked twice by host Vassy Kapelos if he would maintain the unpopular policy, Bayliss did not answer directly, pointing to Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre’s repeated pledge to “cut taxes.” I pointed out that there was.
“What Mr. Poièvre is doing is calling this ‘abolishing taxes’ as if this will solve the problem of affordability for Canadians. It’s not. It’s a problem. Not,” Bayliss said. “The problem is that productivity is down. We’ve lost good jobs. We need to raise the Canadian dollar.”
When asked to clarify his position, Bayliss said he wanted to “have an honest conversation with Canadians.”
“We have to deal with this problem. There will be costs. And people are claiming that a carbon tax is the biggest and final of all our challenges. That’s not true. No,” Bayliss said. “I’m going to have an open and honest discussion with Canadians.”
In April, carbon prices are set to rise from $80 to $95 per tonne in states covered by the federal backstop, with drivers paying an additional 3.3 cents per liter to use the pump. It turns out. The tax is scheduled to increase by an additional $15 per tonne each year until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030. To offset the costs, Canadians eligible for the backstop will receive quarterly payments known as the “Canada Carbon Rebate.”
But over the past year, the policy has faced significant pushback from most premiers, including Liberal Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has also signaled he may distance himself from the policy, saying his party is working on a climate change plan that doesn’t cost workers.
Bayliss, 62, is a Liberal MP from Montreal who represented Pierrefont-Drouard in Parliament from 2015 to 2019 during Trudeau’s first term. He did not seek re-election in 2019. Mr. Bayliss is also a businessman and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Bayliss Medical Technologies.
The Liberal Party has not yet announced the terms of its leadership election, but Bayliss said: “Unless something goes wrong, we intend to formally announce our participation in the leadership election.”
Asked about his desire to run against Kapelos, Baylis said he believed “success in business attracts a lot of people.”
“Remember, I’m an entrepreneur, so I think there’s opportunity everywhere, but I think there’s a lot of opportunity to help our country. And I’m excited to be in this race. ,” Bayliss said.
You can read the full interview with Bayliss at the top of this article.
