New information consequential for the territory’s march toward a carbon tax and a subsequent revenue rebate was made available to the public Wednesday.

But significant questions remain unanswered, with the territorial government awaiting further clarity from Ottawa, and Yukoners looking for the same from their government.

The federal ministers of Environment and Finance announced Wednesday that jurisdictions adopting the federal carbon pricing backstop will see it come into effect in the fall of 2018.

The Yukon government has confirmed it will not be implementing its own carbon pricing mechanism, and as such the federal backstop will apply sometime in the final months of next year.

At that time, carbon pricing is expected to sit at 2.33 cents per litre of gasoline, rising to around 11.63 cents per litre in 2022.

But what of the millions of dollars in annual revenue the federal government is expected to collect and hand back from carbon taxation in the Yukon, a revenue figure predicted to grow to $25 million in 2022?

The Yukon government hasn’t determined how it will deal with carbon tax revenues yet, beyond a commitment to its return to Yukoners and Yukon businesses.

There are some outstanding questions the territory is waiting on Ottawa to answer, explained Carol MacLellan, director of business and economic research for the Department of Finance.

One of these is the exact implementation date for carbon pricing.

“We know it’s going to be fall 2018, but that still leaves a lot of room for potential dates,” MacLellan said.

Another yet-to-be determined element is if the Yukon will see special considerations in its carbon pricing scheme based on remoteness and uniquely northern characteristics.

The federal government is currently undertaking a study to assess the impacts of carbon pricing in the territories, but MacLellan said she couldn’t speak to its anticipated completion date.

Other missing pieces are how and when carbon tax revenues will be transferred back to the territory – answers that will shape what the Yukon’s rebate mechanism looks like.

There are a number of ways the territory could return the carbon levy to citizens and industry, from cheque/direct deposit to a tax credit to reduced income tax rates.

The government is considering all of them, according to MacLellan. The former was the most popular option among respondents to a Yukon government survey.

Released yesterday, this information is gleaned from YG public engagement feedback on the territory’s carbon price rebate.

“The feedback will be fully considered as we move forward with the design of a rebate mechanism that will best serve Yukon,” Premier Sandy Silver said in a statement Wednesday.

Fifty-five per cent of respondents to the government’s online survey said they would prefer to receive the carbon price rebate by way of direct payment (cheque or direct deposit).

Twenty-three per cent indicated a tax credit to individuals and businesses as their most favoured option.

Twenty-two per cent favoured a reduction in income tax rates.

While responses to the government survey have utility, they should not be taken as representative of the opinions of the Yukon’s population as a whole.

The government reports 665 responses to the survey were completed. It was available online between Aug. 16 and Sept. 13 of this year.

When asked about the importance of four groups of Yukoners receiving a higher carbon price rebate than others, 59 per cent of respondents indicated that it was very or somewhat important that low-income Yukoners receive a higher rebate.

They were followed by 51 per cent who indicated it was very or somewhat important for seniors, 51 per cent for rural Yukoners, and 47 per cent for Yukoners with children.

An open-ended question asked about other groups that should receive a higher rebate.

Business owners, individuals or businesses that make low-carbon investments, and individuals who live in off-grid or remote communities were most frequently cited.

Other survey responses analyzed show that some respondents felt the rebate program should not become a mechanism for wealth redistribution.

Others suggested the rebate should be equal for all Yukoners, while some respondents said it should be tied to the amount of carbon tax paid.

The “What we heard” document also acknowledges that “feedback provided through the survey and the information sessions did not provide one clear message to government on the design of a rebate program, as opinions on the subject are as varied as Yukoners themselves.”

During public consultation on the rebate, the government also hosted targeted information sessions with First Nations organizations and governments, municipalities and industry.

The “What we heard” section on these sessions demonstrate that Yukoners are asking questions to which answers are required.

“The impact of carbon pricing on the cost of living was raised as a concern, particularly the impact on the middle-class and lower-income Yukoners,” the document reads.

MacLellan told the Star that while she isn’t sure and it’s still “early days,” she imagines the government will want to take advantage of some kind of impact analysis that looks at how carbon pricing will affect the territory’s population.

The official Opposition has been pushing hard for the government to conduct such an analysis.

“Particularly if they were to choose, for example, directing a higher proportion of the rebate to rural Yukoners, or to low-income Yukoners, or something like that, I think we’d want to understand what that would look like,” MacLellan said.

The information sessions also saw questions about how the carbon tax rebate will interact with social assistance programs. For example, will the rebate be deducted as income for those Yukoners on social assistance?

“Too early to tell, I think,” MacLellan said, “but that would have to be figured out as the rebate mechanism is designed.”

First Nations representatives wanted to know about whether the “jurisdiction of origin” the federal government has promised carbon tax revenues will return to includes First Nations governments.

“That’s certainly something the federal government could choose to do directly too, but I don’t have any clarity on that at the moment,” MacLellan said.

It appears that Yukoners, like their territorial government, will have to wait for these answers from Ottawa.

“Once details are clear from Canada ... the Yukon government will be able to proceed with the design of a rebate mechanism,” the public engagement document reads.

“A clear message was heard from Yukon stakeholders and First Nations that further conversations would be welcome on this topic.”