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When it was first elected, this Liberal government was like a bull wearing hobnail boots on the climate change file. Now it seems to be creeping toward its targets on cat’s paws.

All provinces and territories will be obliged to set a minimum price of $10 a tonne of carbon emitted in 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons Monday, rising $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022.

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“Pollution crosses borders, so all provinces must do their part,” he said. There were nonetheless splutters of outrage from some provincial capitals as he confirmed the federal government will impose a minimum price on provinces or territories that don’t initiate one themselves.

Brad Wall, the most outspoken of Trudeau’s provincial critics, accused the prime minister of showing “disrespect” by unilaterally announcing a carbon tax even as the country’s environment ministers were meeting in Montreal to discuss a “collaborative climate change plan.”