Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Guilbeault is taking the stand after Tuesday’s federal budget promised to amend the Financial Administration Act so government payments accepted for deposit at Canadian banks will carry whatever title the government wants.
“The fact that they haven’t been doing it now for many years led us to take this position,” Guilbeault said.
His department has been battling with banks for almost two years over how carbon rebates are labelled when they are deposited directly into bank accounts.
The first rebate deposits in 2022 were labelled very generically — “federal payment” and “EFT Canada,” for example — which meant recipients had no idea why they were getting the money.
Some banks, but not all, have since amended their procedures to ensure bank statements reflect the measure’s new name: the “Canada Carbon Rebate.”
TD and BMO have adopted the government’s requested “CdaCarbonRebate” entry, which fits the 15−character limit imposed by some banks.
However, RBC and Scotiabank were unable to make the change in time for the rollout, although both say they intend to update to the new name.
CIBC, meanwhile, is still calling it “Deposit Canada.”
Guilbeault said the lack of a clear identifier isn’t the only thing fuelling confusion about carbon pricing, but is definitely part of the problem.
“I think we took it for granted that since people were receiving it, people knew they were receiving it,” Guilbeault said.
“We’ve come to discover over the last few months that it wasn’t the case, in part because it the way it was labelled — or mislabelled, I should say — by most financial institutions.”
The government has struggled to fully explain the carbon price and the rebates since the policy began in 2019.
That has helped the Conservatives, fastidiously opposed to carbon pricing, in their unrelenting efforts to kill it off once and for all.
Changing the law wouldn’t just affect carbon rebates, but all government deposits, including child benefits, employment insurance and tax refunds.
Guilbeault rejected any suggestion the change would cost the banks money.
“You can quote me on this: I have a really hard time believing the banks when they say that it’s going to cost them money,” he said.
“I feel that, as a client, we should have the right to label this the way we feel it should be labelled and it’s not up to the banks to decide.”
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Bankers Association had little to say about the proposed change.
“Banks in Canada support measures that help build a strong and sustainable Canadian economy,” Maggie Cheung said in a written statement.
“We will also review proposed amendments to the Financial Administration Act when they are presented, and what proposed changes to the Act would mean for banks and Canadians.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2024.
Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press
article website here
You Must Obey! If the private sector refuses to be involved in the Liberal led Government’s effort to get reelected then that Federal Government will create a law to force them to comply. That is democracy Canada style. We need to get Trudeau and his environmental attack dog out of there. They are both too deep into the Climate Change cult/religion. They no longer represent us, the people. Instead, they are now representing the billionaire elites that will benefit financially from this fear mongering.
Might be time to get the pitchforks and torches out of storage.
How many people keep track of that amount of Carbon Tax they pay daily? None. How many people notice the prices of everything has gone through the roof? Everyone. How can you know if you get more money back than you spend? Less money back? How do you know?
So you get money deposited into your account by the Federal Government. You get a deposit every three months? Four months? You pay for groceries, gasoline, clothing and utilities daily? Weekly? Monthly? You don’t really see the money going into your account but you definitely see it leaving your account. You notice that pain each and every day.
Why take money from me only to give it back? That seems dumb. How much does it cost for the Federal Government bureaucracy to process the taking and the giving back? I know for sure that the people doing that work are not doing it for free. I have not heard that cost.
Time to get rid of that tax.
and then there is this…..
What will all of this sacrifice we are being asked to do end up doing? The ‘experts’ have no idea. They are guessing. It might make a difference. It might not. The truth is that the science is not settled. Every single prediction made by EVERY one of the members of the Climate Change Cult over the past 50 years has turned out to be wrong. All of them. Coincidently, the same can be said for the previous COVID ‘pandemic’ . Funny, isn’t it. You might start to believe that all of these ‘experts’ are full of shit.
Many trillions of dollars…. is that enough of a reason to lie?
Watch Climate the Movie. It explains everything.