ANDREW SCHEER -- Canadians know that paying a tax isn’t going to help the environment, and that a carbon tax is not an environmental plan

Canadians are looking to Conservatives for new ideas and leadership on the critically important issue of climate change. And it’s because the Liberals have failed.

Canadians trusted Justin Trudeau when he said he would protect the environment and lower Canada’s emissions. Instead, all they got was a carbon tax. The Trudeau Carbon Tax is just a classic Liberal bait and switch.

He promised Canadians a plan to lower emissions and protect the environment. Instead, Trudeau delivered nothing but a plan to punish taxpayers and pad government coffers.

Trudeau’s Carbon Tax makes driving your car, heating your home, and buying groceries more expensive. His Carbon Tax doesn’t apply to some of Canada’s biggest polluters – thanks to a sweetheart exemption deal. And finally, Trudeau’s Carbon Tax will go higher if he’s re-elected – something that Canadian families just can’t afford.

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The carbon tax is - by every possible measure
and projection - a failure of epic proportions

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It makes almost no contribution in the global fight against climate change ...  and it only makes life more expensive for Canadian families and small businesses. When it comes to the environment and climate change, Trudeau is not as advertised.

Canadians expect results. And Conservatives know we can never out-promise the Liberals. But we can and we will out-deliver them.

A Real Plan to Protect Our Environment is built on three guiding principles:

·         Green technology, not taxes

·         A cleaner and greener natural environment

·         Taking the climate change fight global

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Conservatives believe that you cannot
tax your way to a cleaner environment

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Green technology, not taxes is the best way to lower emissions. That’s why we will implement Green Investment Standards that requires polluters to invest in emissions-reduction technology.

We will also introduce the Green Home Tax Credit, to make it affordable for Canadians to improve their homes with emissions-reducing technologies.

And we will introduce the Green Patent Credit for green innovators and entrepreneurs who create new emissions-reducing technologies.

These are only three of several new policy proposals in our Green technology, not taxes plan.

Our second policy principle, A cleaner and greener natural environment, focuses squarely on protecting our air, land, water, and wildlife. Canada is home to some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world.

To that end, we will restore meaningful consultations with stakeholders and Indigenous groups for protected areas ... we will step up protections against pests and invasive species that threaten our habitats ... we will reconvene the Hunting and Angling Advisory Panel after the Liberals dissolved it ... and we will take real action on reducing plastic waste by harmonizing recycling standards across provinces and working with industry to cut down on excessive packaging.

Our third policy principle is, Taking the climate change fight global.

Climate change is a global problem, it requires a global solution. We need a new perspective. And Canada can and should lead the way. It starts with exporting our environmental excellence.

I have tremendous confidence in Canadians’ innovation and ingenuity. And I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. Our best and brightest are ready to make their mark on the world stage by lowering emissions in the world’s highest-emitting countries.

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Our Real Plan to Protect Our Environment is the
best chance to meet the Paris targets

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Canadians know that paying a tax isn’t going to help the environment, and that a carbon tax is not an environmental plan. Canadians want a real plan. A plan that doesn’t punish them for living their lives while acknowledging the global nature of the climate change problem.

A plan that is balanced and realistic.

We owe it to our children, who will inherit from us this great and beautiful country, to preserve what they will be entrusted to protect.

Our Plan to Protect Our Environment takes real action at home and shows real leadership to the world. It is balanced. It is realistic.