Climate change ads needed to explain new program, minister says

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips says a$4.4-million summer advertising blitz to promote the province's
climate-change plan is necessary because of its sweeping impact.

But opposition politicians say the multiplatform campaignconfirms the province is desperately selling something the publicisn't buying.

Phillips said the climate plan, which includes amultibillion-dollar carbon tax that kicks in Jan. 1., isfar-reaching and complex.

"People need to know more about it," Phillips told reporters atthe legislature Tuesday.

"We as a government have a responsibility to communicate withAlbertans exactly what we are making for changes.

"There are going to be a number of different programs and otherinitiatives that are moving forward as a result of this."

The campaign is on top of $503,000 spent on a climate change adrollout last year.

The new one will feature ads online, on TV, on radio, in moviehouses, in print and in mailouts over the summer.

The 90-second video clip promises the plan will protect healthand the environment while kickstarting the economy.

It has upbeat music along with shots of kayakers, cyclists,mountain goats, wind turbines, horses, puppies, mountain andriverscapes, bears, ducks, scientists, and solar panels.

Wrong time for carbon tax, opposition argues

Phillips dismissed suggestions the ad plan is a bid to change thenarrative because the government's message isn't getting through.

"What I've been hearing is that there's a tremendous optimismfor diversifying the economy (and) all the new investments that aregoing to be coming in," she said.

The climate change plan, announced last year by Notley andPhillips, is a multipronged approach to reduce Alberta's carbonfootprint and give it more environmental credibility when it pitchesfor national projects like pipelines to ports.

It will reduce methane emissions, curb oilsands emissions andphase out coal-fired electricity by 2030.

The first part of the climate plan was passed in the springsitting, giving the province the legal licence to implement the
carbon tax.

Gasoline will go up 4.49 cents a litre and natural gas will go up$1.01 gigajoule, raising an estimated $3 billion over 2017 and 2018.

The province estimates the average family will see their costsrise an extra $443 next year, while opposition politicians say thecost will be double that or more.

The money all goes to rebates for middle and low-income earnersor is earmarked for green initiatives from transit projects to homeretrofits.

Opposition politicians fought to amend the legislation in thespring sitting, saying, among other concerns, that the tax needs tobe revenue neutral and the government needs to present studies onthe economic impact of the tax.

Those amendments were defeated by Notley's majority government.

Opponents have also argued a broad tax is particularlycounterproductive at a time Alberta's economy has hit a wall overlow oil prices.

Progressive Conservative Leader Ric McIver said the key stickingpoint is the fact the government climate plan will slow the rate ofgreenhouse emissions over the next decade or so, but the actualamount of GHGs will still increase.

"The general public isn't buying this," said McIver.

"Their plan is taking a lot of jobs away from Albertans, takinga lot of money out of the economy, and isn't going to do a blessedthing for the environment," he said.

Wildrose environment critic Todd Loewen agreed.

"It's a huge amount of money and it comes at a time whenAlbertans are hurting," he said.

"Obviously if Albertans were loving this carbon tax, theywouldn't spend this much money selling it."