Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Scott Aitchison says while a price on carbon might be the 鈥渕ost effective鈥� policy to curb emissions, he鈥檇 scrap it anyway.
In an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period airing Sunday, the Ontario-based MP said while he wouldn鈥檛 introduce a tax policy as leader, he will put forward a climate plan.
鈥淲e need to lower emissions there鈥檚 no question about that but we need to actually assist Canadians to reduce their footprint. I recognize that you know a carbon tax may be the most effective and efficient way to do this but it鈥檚 not the fairest way to do it,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e need to work with municipalities and we need to help Canadians reduce their footprint, not punish them.鈥�
Aitchison had publicly supported elements of former leader Erin O鈥橳oole鈥檚 plan to fight climate change, which included a carbon-pricing scheme.
Under the O鈥橳oole plan, Canadians would see funds accumulated from fuel consumption stored in an account that could be used later on green purchases like a bicycle or transit pass. O鈥橳oole insisted it was not a tax.
In an op-ed in the Huntsville Doppler , Aitchison said he had 鈥渉oped鈥� the party could eliminate consumer pricing and acknowledges that the proposed system 鈥渨ill be more complex than a tax and rebate system鈥� but he accepted that if carbon pricing must be a part of the solution, 鈥渋t should help Canadians instead of punishing鈥� them.
Aitchison is working to introduce himself to Conservative members as one of the lesser known candidates in the party鈥檚 leadership race.
Before entering federal politics during the 2019 election, Aitchison served as the mayor of Huntsville and touts that experience when asked what he brings to the table.
鈥淢ayors are in the business of solving problems and getting things done. I come to this opportunity in my career in Ottawa without any of the baggage of Ottawa, but years of experience of actually getting things done,鈥� he said.
He鈥檚 not the only contender with a local politics background, Patrick Brown is currently the mayor of Brampton but also served in the House of Commons and Ontario legislature.
Aitchison on Tuesday that focuses in on boosting supply to tackle the housing crisis. Specifically, he promises to end exclusionary zoning in big cities and will work with cities to 鈥渟et clear rules鈥� for new building projects. He鈥檚 also pledged to invest in affordable and social housing and crack down on money laundering.
Expanding on his pitch to end exclusionary zoning on CTV鈥檚 Question Period, he said the federal government can tie the billions of dollars sent to municipalities each year for infrastructure to this objective.
Aitchison refuted the assertion that the proposal sounds more like a Liberal solution 鈥� funding with strings attached 鈥� than a Conservative one.
鈥淭he Liberal solution is to announce billions of dollars and never actually accomplish anything. The Conservative part of this plan is actually getting something done. I think Canadians actually aren鈥檛 interested in ideological entrenchment, they鈥檙e actually interested in solutions,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f we can tie that money to getting things done...we can actually get units built and that鈥檚 the issue.鈥�
