Quebec Carbon Tax Plan Will Pressure Ottawa To Act - Reuters

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OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec plans to bring in a carbon tax to help meet its targets under the Kyoto protocol, putting more political pressure on a federal Conservative government that dislikes the international climate change accord.

Quebec's Liberal government said on Thursday it would levy a tax on oil and gas companies in a bid to raise C$1.2 billion ($1.1 billion) over six years to help finance efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Quebec said the plan would still leave the province short of its Kyoto targets and demanded the country's minority Conservative government contribute around C$330 million to fund other programs.

This poses a problem for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who says the country cannot possibly meet its Kyoto goals and promises his Conservatives will instead create a "Made in Canada" plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Kyoto is particularly popular in Quebec, where Harper needs to boost support in the next federal election if he is to stand any chance of capturing a majority of seats in Parliament. The province of 7.6 million accounts for 75 of the 308 seats in the federal House of Commons.

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http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_national.asp?id=155936