How Ottawa and the provinces can work together on climate change

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to meet with the provinces this week to discuss a national climate change plan, a main concern is around how the federal government will play a role and how collaboration could be accomplished.

In their op-ed for Maclean’s, Professor Paul Boothe, Director of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management; Visiting Fellow Felix Boudreault; and Chris Frankel, an environmental consultant at F&B Advisors, summarize an appropriate approach for the federal government to take in driving climate change policies.

“The big unanswered question is: how does the federal government intend to proceed on carbon pricing? Will it try to impose a carbon tax or cap and trade system uniformly across the country? Or alternatively, will it play the role of ‘system integrator’, connecting provincial programs to form a system that will meet Canada’s 2030 target?” they asked.