The federal government will return 90% of all the money it collects from a carbon price directly to the Canadians who pay it.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unveiling the details of the carbon tax rebates, dubbed the Climate Action Incentive, as he tries to sell Canadians on the need to pay for pollution without breaking their pocketbooks.

The remaining 10 per cent will be handed out to small and medium-sized businesses, schools, hospitals and other organizations who can’t pass on their costs from the carbon tax directly to consumers.

The rebates will only apply in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick – the four provinces which have refused to impose their own carbon price – and the average household payments in those provinces will range from $256 to $598.

Officials say 70 per cent of people in those provinces will get back more than they end up paying out as fuel costs rise to incorporate the carbon tax.

They will also get a four month reprieve from the carbon tax as the government pushed the implementation of its $20 per tonne tax to April 1 to give more time to fuel distributors and other companies the time they need to put it in place.

(The Canadian Press)