Prime Minister Stephen Harper, bottom left, United States President Barack Obama, right, President of the Republic of South Africa Jacob Zuma, top left, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev join the G20 leaders during the official family photo at the G20 Summit in Toronto.Sean Kilpatrick
The Canadian Press has learned that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is rejecting advice from his officials to eliminate tax incentives for the oil patch.
At the last G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, member countries agreed to figure out where governments were subsidizing fossil fuel consumption and production - and then move to eliminate such subsidies.
In Canada, the Finance Department recommended that Harper lead by example and get rid of tax incentives that encourage oil and gas production.
But leaked documents to be released in conjunction with the final G20 Summit communique today show that Harper has opted instead to reiterate actions taken in the past, rather than volunteer any additional gestures.
According to the documents, the Canadian "action plan" on fossil fuels consists mainly of phasing out accelerated capital cost allowances for oil sands production.
That measure that was announced a few years ago, and put on a faster track in the 2010 budget.