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Carbon Tax Where Do We Go From Here?
May 15, 2018
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The provincial government has made it clear
it is
not utilizing the revenues generated from a carbon tax for efficiency
programming.

This decision is counter to the government’s original
direction, as laid out in the Manitoba Climate and Green Plan. This reversal has the government
using the carbon tax to underwrite other financial commitments opposed to funding a carbon reduction
strategy.

MTA staff worked in partnership with the
government to develop a meaningful emissions reduction plan. A plan that would
allow Manitoba to better understand the importance of fuel efficiency to our industry.
This information was shared with the government in the form of our GrEEEner
Trucking Fuel Efficiency Initiative, with the goal of industry
approved short,
medium and longer-term tools for reducing trucking GHG’s.

It has always been the intention of the MTA to
have the GrEEEner program self-funded by the trucking industry. Manitoba’s
decision on the carbon tax has been made, however a meaningful fuel efficiency plan for trucking has not.

So where do we go from here?

The MTA has organised a Carbon Strategy
Committee, which has been diligently working towards an industry approved carbon reduction strategy that will
encourage and incentivise, meaningful efficiency activity which is good
environmentally and economically.

The committee recently met with both the Minister of Sustainable
Development and the Minister of Finance. At that meeting all agreed, that some interim
measures for the trucking industry made sense and a commitment was made to
meet with the MTA, to discuss what this might look like. MTA staff are
currently working on scheduling this discussion.

Members with specific questions or
comments are encouraged to contact MTA staff for details.

204 632-6600

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