Mayor of Orangeville to address disparity in rural eligibility for the Canada Carbon Rebate

The Town of Orangeville’s Mayor will appeal to the Federal Government to change the criteria for determining how much residents in certain areas can receive on their Canada Carbon Rebate.

Mayor Lisa Post put forward a motion at the March 18 meeting of Orangeville Council regarding the matter, addressing the eligibility for the small/rural community supplement. Currently, this CCR supplement sits at 10 per cent, and will rise to 20 per cent in April of this year. 

“The CCR supplements were intended to provide additional rebates to municipalities based on their size and location, taking into consideration what additional carbon taxes they might face based on that rurality,” explained Mayor Post. “Unfortunately, the metric used to determine if residents receive this supplement does not accurately reflect the rurality of many communities.”

The current ranking system uses the criteria for a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), and whether or not a resident lives in one. Communities like the Town of Orangeville and the Town of Mono are ineligible because they fall under the Toronto CMA. This ranking system was not created to determine eligibility for government rebates, and because of that, residents who should qualify for this particular rebate enhancement do not. 

The quarterly basic CCR sits at $140 per resident, with an additional amount for spouses, common-law partners, and children. The rural supplement sees an additional 10 per cent added to the basic amount. 

“For a family of four in our municipality, this is a difference of approximately $224 additionally per year that they are losing out on,” added Mayor Post.

The reason this supplement was created is because the offerings and availability of alternative choices are not readily available in comparison to the cities. Heating fuel options, for example, are often limited to high carbon producers like gas. Viable commuter transit options play a role in the increase, as it results in creating more car-dependent municipalities.

Mayor John Creelman of Mono, along with Mayor Post, will request the Federal Government make changes to the eligibility that would ensure small and rural municipalities are included in the program regardless of whether they fall within a CMA.

“40,000 residents between our two municipalities are missing out on this critical supplement, and many more across Canada are being affected by the same poorly laid out eligibility requirements,” said Mayor Post. “As the cost of living continues to grow, proper allocation criteria must be set.”