Houston’s plan to play politics with climate emergency backfires

Halifax - Tim Houston loses his political game of chicken with the federal government leaving families to pay more as carbon pricing is imposed on the province.

The Premier had months to work with the federal government to find a deal that protects the environment and families' pocketbooks. Instead, the Houston government used the issue of climate change as a way to score political points, protect big polluters and fundraise for his political war chest.

“Climate change is real and its impacts are already being felt here at home and around the world. This issue is so important that we should all be working together to find the best solutions possible for our children, grandchildren, and the planet,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Making this a political wedge issue and using it to fundraise is not what families were asking for. Putting a price on carbon is a reality, what people need is a government that will work with all political parties and levels of government to find a way to protect the environment and make life affordable for families.”

The Houston government has used carbon pricing to pit people against each other and as reported today, Tim Houston and his government members are using the issue to fundraise money for the next political campaign.

“The Premier’s plan was to pressure the federal government to back down, and it failed. We are talking about the future of our environment. The Premier argued and delayed when he should have been taking firm, clear action, not playing politics to put money into his party’s bank account,” said NDP Natural Resources and Renewables spokesperson Susan Leblanc. “There are any number of ways Tim Houston could help Nova Scotians with the rising cost of oil and gas, from using tax windfall funds to directly help families, to ensuring more people are able to make their homes more efficient. Instead, he picked a fight with Ottawa and left everyday families to pay the price.”

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