Prime Minister Trudeau II and his selfie-loving environment minister (Catherine McKenna) seem hell-bent on imposing a carbon tax across the country, regardless of public opinion or economic impact.
We say they need to find another way.
This is not meant to be a debate on climate change itself. We don’t want to be characterized as climate change deniers (which we aren’t) by David Suzuki and his Earth muffin minions.
While the percentage of carbon emissions coming from Canada is quite low, Canada’s emissions are disproportionately high. For a country of 35 million people, we emit a lot of carbon.
But a carbon tax is not the solution. A carbon tax will only serve as a means to punish western Canada, and further hamstring provincial economies.
There are very few good taxes. There are some that are essential (sales and property taxes) and others that make sense, such as tobacco. A carbon tax, though, would serve to be a tax grab first and then a punishment on emitters second.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is, not surprisingly, opposed to the concept. And for good reason. Saskatchewan stands to suffer if a carbon tax is implemented. Alberta is moving forward with their own carbon tax, but that is more borne out of idealism than provincial benefit.
Perhaps it would be best if Trudeau II were to leave this up to the individual provinces. If the provincial government and the people of Saskatchewan think a carbon tax is best, then let them impose one. After all, Premier Wall and the people of Saskatchewan have a far better grasp of what’s best for Saskatchewan, than a prime minister who will make only a handful of visits to the province each year.
This is definitely a time for the federal government to stay out of the way.
We’d also love to see Trudeau, Suzuki and other proponents of carbon taxes in southeast Saskatchewan. We’d love to see them gain a greater understanding of how the carbon tax scheme will impact the lives of people in the southeast, and how it will impact the economy of the southeast and the rest of the country.
As we’ve seen in the last 20 years, a healthy oil and gas sector means a healthy economy for Saskatchewan and Alberta, and for the country as a whole. It also means larger transfer payments for the lesser provinces, particularly Quebec.
It would also be nice for Trudeau and others to get a good look at the carbon capture and storage project at the Boundary Dam Power Station, now that it has emerged from that tough first year, and is operating close to its full potential.
Projects like Boundary Dam represent a much better option for reducing carbon emissions than a tax.
Yet Trudeau and others are going to ramrod this through, and our economy will suffer as a result.
