As of Jan. 1, the carbon tax levy has been fully implemented in Alberta and homes and businesses are in the midst of trying to adjust for the added costs. Schools divisions and municipalities are also doing the same.
“(The tax) definitely has an impact on us. That’s something that’s new for us and we’re trying to figure it out like everyone else,” secretary-treasurer of St. Paul Education Regional Division (SPERD) Jean Champagne said.
“If we look only on what SPERD pays directly (not counting contractors) we estimate we paid $27,839 in levy last year and are projecting about $77,902 this year. It is unknown what impact the levy may have on additional services such as freight or cost of goods in general,” said Champagne.
The levy has increased to $30 per tonne from $20 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. The NDP has said the increase is an effort to reduce emissions and promote energy efficiency.
“We’re looking at examining efficiencies all the time, like before (the levy), and with new technologies coming out it could (work),” Champagne said, speaking about the division’s efforts to reduce costs.
“It’s hard to deal with the price of fuel, there are lots of variables. We can’t get more fuel-efficient busses. They are what they are. We’re looking at LED lighting (for school buildings), but we’re not getting assistance (from the government),” he added.
The board used to have a funding formula that included adjustments for prices of fuel, but it was removed several years ago and they now don’t see more funding if the prices go up, according to Champagne.
He also said that while the government has added additional rebates for homes to help offset some of the cost of the levy – about $310 million in rebates according to a provincial press release – there aren’t any rebates for schools.
“We’re not receiving subsidies to retrofit schools,” he said, before adding that they’d like to improve efficiency and hopes that some of the money generated from the levy could be redirected to help schools become more efficient.
For example, SPERD gets the majority of its electricity from wind energy, “but as wind does not always produce, we do have to purchase conventional production as well which would be affected by the levy,” explained Champagne.
The carbon tax levy is on the agenda for SPERD’s board meeting this week, where the board will discuss a strategy to move forward.
The County of St. Paul is also feeling the heat and holes in their pockets with the recent increase.
“We anticipate the total carbon tax for the county in 2018 to be approximately $206,775. The increase over last year is expected to be about $68,925,” said CAO for the County of St. Paul Sheila Kitz, via email last week.
Kitz adds that although the county has provided funding to agriculture societies and community halls, the amount being allocated this year won’t increase because of the levy for a couple of reasons.
“The funding increased (throughout the years) as the county (gained) access to the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) Operational funding from the province,” she explained.
Kitz said MSI funding from the province has been decreasing, and council decided in preliminary budget talks that maintaining the funding “was crucial for these important groups to remain viable in our communities.”
“The trend is that general tax dollars are being used to provide funding to these groups. There was no discussion during preliminary budget to increase the funding to help with the additional costs these groups will face due to the carbon tax levy,” noted Kitz.
UCP MLA for Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills Dave Hanson isn’t in favour of the increased levy.
“It’s almost like penalizing Albertans. Especially in January right in the middle of a cold snap. Heating your house isn’t a luxury it’s a necessity and it doesn’t matter if you’re using natural gas, propane, wood, or coal . . . It’s not something we can shut off or make a choice between heating and groceries.”
He added, “To me the carbon tax is just a redistribution of wealth. (The NDP) talk about how 30 per cent of (the revenue from the levy) is going back to lower income (families). To me it’s not doing what its intent is.”
Hanson says the province should look at other ways to diversify the economy instead of a levy.
“I think we can incentivize the oil and gas industry. The (industry) is already doing as much as they can . . . I used to work in the industry and I know that they’re doing whatever they can to save gas because any gas they don’t burn is money in their pockets.”
