WINNIPEG -- A day after meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister reiterated that the province's green plan deserves respect from Ottawa, promising to cap the carbon tax without clarifying what that cap will be.
On Tuesday Pallister made the latest announcement in the province's Made in Manitoba Climate and Green Plan, which he said will set standards for fuel content.
The minimum ethanol content in gasoline will move from 8.5 per cent to 10 per cent, and the biodiesel content in diesel from two per cent to five per cent.
"We cannot let the ag-sector take its foot off the gas, and gas is going to need to be used, lets make it a little greener," Pallister said at the Manitoba Ag Days exposition in Brandon, Man.
Pallister said this latest fuel standard will reduce Manitoba's emissions by almost 400,000 tonnes cumulatively over the next five years.
The premier said he has committed to capping the carbon tax, keeping it "flat like the prairie horizon," but so far there has been no indication of what that cap will be.
"They're guessing, I'm guessing, because we're ready to negotiate with the federal government and hopefully get their agreement," the premier said, adding he brought this up during his meeting with the prime minister on Monday.
Pallister did say the province's green plan would exempt Manitoba farmer's fuel costs related to drying grain from a provincial carbon tax -- a request Keystone Agricultural Producers made Tuesday morning before the premier's announcement.
READ MORE: Manitoba grain farmers pay nearly $1.7M in carbon tax
The premier said he's willing to discuss the carbon-pricing plan Trudeau, but is demanding respect for the green initiatives made by the province so far. He said Manitoba has yet to be shown the respect it deserves.
"I am today calling on the federal government to recognize and respect Manitobans and our green record and our green investments -- to respect our plan," Pallister said. "If they want to work with Western Canada, I am giving them the opportunity to do so."
