Roundup: It’s not really a $300/tonne price

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A “secret memo” has been floating around from a couple of different news organizations, which purports to claim that a $300/tonne carbon price would be required to reach our emissions reduction targets, and of course, opponents of carbon pricing are lighting their hair on fire and saying “See! The Liberals are trying to destroy the energy industry!” And so on. Except that’s not what it says. It says that if no other measures were taken, that’s what the carbon price would be, but those are the only measures we’re taking. We’re doing a bunch of things with regulations and other programmes, not to mention that carbon prices can be the incentive by which industries will innovate and look for ways to reduce their emissions as it becomes a price incentive. You know, a free market mechanism instead of the heavy hand of government regulation. Regardless, the National Post version of the story has a bunch of perspective sauce, much of it courtesy of Andrew Leach, and I’ll leave you with some of his added Twitter commentary on the matter, much of it directed to Jason Kenney and Brian Jean in Alberta who are using this as “proof” that carbon pricing is ineffective and/or some nefarious scheme.

Good reads:

  • While announcing money for Ford Canada yesterday, Justin Trudeau defended the loans to Bombardier while their executive compensation doubled.
  • The provinces are poised to sign an interprovincial free trade deal next month. We’ll see if it deals with the bigger problem of non-tariff barriers.
  • Manitoba continues to get pissy with the federal government, now threatening the number of government-sponsored refugees it can settle.
  • General Vance insists that the Canadian Forces isn’t hurting for money.
  • While Conservatives continue to back away from Senator Lynn Beyak and her comments, she keeps insisting she’s all about auditing First Nations spending.
  • A group of senators wanted to create their own Canada 150 medal, since the government quashed the planned one, but couldn’t get the Internal Economy votes.
  • Another parliamentary secretary has claimed sponsored travel that may have violated conflict of interest rules.
  • The Federal Court has ruled that the minister of public safety can’t keep putting off making politically sensitive decisions in certain immigration cases.
  • The class action lawsuits with former LGBT civil servants and those serving in the military have now merged, no doubt to pressure the government into taking action.
  • That 2014 Chinese hack of the National Research Council computers cost the country “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
  • Elections Canada is looking at writing rules for companies doing business with political parties.
  • Rona Ambrose was “upset” by Brad Trost’s comments about “the gay thing.”
  • Maclean’s decodes the messages being sent by Conservative leadership candidates posing with various firearms.
  • This week’s Ask Kady Anything column sees her defend the Senate and give her parliamentary wish list.

Odds and ends:

Here’s a look back at the debates in the UK around the British North America Act – which most of them couldn’t be bothered to care about.

Here’s Scott Gilmore on Power Play talking about his dismay with the Conservatives and why he wants to start a new party.