The Conservative chair of a House of Commons committee has invited Canadas premiers to come testify about their carbon tax concerns.

On Tuesday, the premiers of New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , Saskatchewan  and Alberta  made public letters theyd sent to the House Finance Committee, asking to appear to talk about the upcoming April 1 carbon price increase.

According to the Official Opposition, the Liberal chair of the House Finance Committee declined to recall that panel of MPs on an urgent basis to accommodate these provincial leaders requests to come talk, before the tax increase comes into effect next Monday.

The House of Commons is currently on a two-week constituency break but committees can still meet if theres enough interest.

In a statement , Conservative MP and chair of the Conservative-led Government Operations and Estimates Committee Kelly McCauley said he extended an invitation to these premiers to come discuss the matter, before the same committee that is currently examining the ArriveCan controversy as well as the Main Estimates.

Premiers should be welcomed before parliamentary committees and given the opportunity to testify, especially on matters of national importance, McCauley said. 

CTV News has reached out to the House Finance Committee and the MP who leads it for comment.

The mandate of the Government Operations and Estimates Committee is to focus on the effectiveness and proper functioning of government operations, as well as federal spending plans.   

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said in an interview on CTV News Channels Power Play with Vassy Kapelos that he is scheduled to testify on Wednesday afternoon, while a revised committee meeting notice indicates Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe will appear virtually at 11 a.m. ET.

It remains to be seen when Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith would appear before MPs.

He said as he watches the ramping up of resistance to the federal price on pollution and rebate plan, he thinks its important he continue to use his voice to speak out against the program.

Id like to see the carbon tax gone because I dont think its the answer to us improving our overall emissions and reducing them, he said.

In a widely signed open letter issued Tuesday, economists from across the country  sought to counter the Conservative-led opposition arguments against the carbon tax, pointing out that since federal carbon pricing took effect in 2019, Canadas GHG emissions have fallen by almost 8 percent.

Higgs said that figure is such a small component, for such large pain.

The economists also cited a Bank of Canada calculation that carbon pricing has caused less than one-20th of Canadas inflation in the past two years.

The current $65-per-tonne carbon price is set to increase to $80 per tonne on April 1, coinciding with an increase to the amount households will be reimbursed.

The impending hike has forced the issue to the political centre stage in recent months, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre upping the pressure  his party is putting on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to axe the tax.

Recently defending his decision to maintain the pollution pricing policy and the upcoming increase, Trudeau panned the political misinformation and disinformation around the marquee Liberal climate change plan, and suggested its an easy solution for short-term thinker politicians  to call for it to end.