Yukon Party promises to fight federal carbon tax amid territorial election
WHITEHORSE — The federal government’s carbon tax strategy is dominating Yukon’s territorial election, with the leader of the long-governing party promising to fight the levy while his rivals dismiss the pledge as political bluster.
Yukon Party Leader Darrell Pasloski said that putting a price on carbon would raise the cost of virtually everything in the territory, including food, clothing and gas.
“A carbon tax would do nothing but hurt the economy,” he said in an interview. “When you put in a new tax that makes everything cost more money, people have a lot less money to spend in an economy.”
Pasloski was elected leader of the governing Yukon Party in 2011 and went on to win the election later that year. He called this election on Oct. 7 with just a week to spare on the party’s five-year mandate.