New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs states his province’s alternative to the federal carbon price will involve sending liquid natural gas to Europe instead of coal.
Higgs asserts he has a business case for this plan, but the issue is that he currently doesn't have any gas to send.
Appearing virtually before a House of Commons committee, Higgs, along with his Alberta and Saskatchewan counterparts, testifies about their opposition to the carbon price, as invited by the Conservatives.
They are part of seven premiers who recently urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cancel the planned carbon price increase on April 1.
Trudeau wrote to these premiers this week, inviting them to propose alternatives to the federal carbon price that would achieve similar results.
Higgs has consistently supported the development of shale gas in New Brunswick and argues that the carbon price won't have much impact on global emissions as long as China continues to build coal plants.
He points out that Canada’s emissions are a small part of global emissions and believes that exporting cleaner fuels to replace coal globally would be a more effective strategy.
Higgs expressed, “In Canada we’re thinking in a bubble. I propose to make a difference worldwide.”
A Spanish company withdrew a proposal to build a natural gas export terminal in Saint John last year, citing the high costs of shipping gas, which would have to be sent via pipelines from Western Canada.
Former Liberal Premier Brian Gallant imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracking in New Brunswick in 2014, following violent anti-fracking protests in 2013.
Fracking is a process that injects large amounts of water and chemicals underground to fracture rock layers and release gas pockets trapped inside.
This report by The Canadian Press was initially published on March 28, 2024.
