Citing “new science,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced that a new “social cost on carbon” will be implemented as a “tool” that will justify further cranking up the carbon tax on Canadians.

Guilbeault said he’s worked with scientists and economists to calculate how much it costs each Canadian every time a tonne of carbon is released into the atmosphere. 

“It used to be that that cost was $54 just a few years ago,” he said.

“And now based on new science and based on new data, we’ve evaluated that this cost is $247 every time a tonne of Co2 goes into the atmosphere,” he said. 

Guilbeault has been working on ways to tell Canadians that higher taxes are worth it, despite the economy and inflation, even if the taxes are “tough.” 

Earlier this month, Guilbeault deleted a tweet just hours after telling Canadians that their hunger and eviction notices are no comparison to the earth’s temperature rising by one degree in the next hundred years (or whatever). 

“Inflation can be tough on Canadians, but we can’t neglect the climate crisis,” he said in a now-deleted tweet.

Guilbeault’s new approach seems to be a “cost-benefit” one that essentially says paying higher taxes will somehow save Canadians money. 

On Thursday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe responded to the announcement on Twitter by asking “What does Minister Guilbeault mean by a ‘social cost on carbon’?”

“He is now saying the ‘social cost on carbon’ (his term) is now $247/tonne – 5X higher than they previously thought,” he said.

“And that this is ‘a new tool the federal government is going to use.’ Is this not just a 5X higher carbon tax?”