The latest round of carbon tax drama has the Conservatives drunk with glee, as Manitoba premier Brian Pallister’s decision to scrap his own carbon tax plans has them thinking that they now have a national momentum against carbon taxes. It’s not likely to be that simple – and they may find out that it may blow up in their faces. Pallister says he changed his mind about it after meeting with Trudeau, and found Trudeau intransigent on letting Manitoba keep their tax at a flat $25/tonne when everyone’s else was ramping up to $50/tonne, which sounds like a no-brainer – you want a consistent carbon price across the country to prevent leakage and to keep a level playing field. (Pallister also claims that their plan was so comprehensive, but in interviews would point to things like remediating mines and recycling programmes, which are not about addressing climate change, and his deliberate misinformation should be called out as such). But it also smacks of opportunism, given that small-c conservatives across the country are taking the election of Doug Ford in Ontario as some sign that there is an uprising against carbon taxes when that was very likely not the cause of his election, but rather it was the impetus for change from the province’s tired Liberal government. Overreading Ford’s “mandate,” if we’re going to use that word, is dangerous for them to do. Meanwhile, Ford was yukking it up with Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe in their insulting the federal carbon tax, each believing their mutual court challenges are going to go somewhere (they’re likely not), and Ford would say things like a carbon tax is the worst thing in the world and will do nothing for the environment – complete falsehoods, and all he has to do is look at BC to show the complete opposite.
The federal government, meanwhile, hasn’t been terribly eloquent in their response, on the one hand decrying Pallister’s “flip flop” and worrying that conservatives want pollution to be free, while also pointing out that when the federal backstop comes in, people will be getting cheques in the mail. And that’s going to be the Achilles heel of the federal Conservatives’ belief that the country is going to rise up against carbon taxes. They keep pushing the narrative that it’s a tax grab to feed the Liberals’ “out of control spending” when it’s in the enabling legislation for the carbon tax that the funds will be rebated. But the government hasn’t been eloquent – and has been barely competent – when it comes to any kind of messaging on this file, and that’s the part that will probably hurt them the most, and it’ll be a self-inflicted wound, which makes you just shake your head watching it all go down.
Good reads:
- Justin Trudeau met with the dairy cartel in Quebec to assure them in person that they’ll be compensated for the loss of market access under the new NAFTA.
- Here’s some context for the size of the dairy sector in Canada. (It’s not that big).
- Here are some more legal opinions around the clause in the new NAFTA deal around whether the US impinges on our sovereignty regarding trade with China.
- The government agreed to increase the pre-writ spending limit from $1.5 million to $2 million to end an impending Conservative filibuster over the electoral reform bill.
- The Citizenship and Immigration website changed uses of “illegal” to “irregular” regarding migrants, as the semantic games were heating up.
- Canada joined other NATO allies in condemning Russian cyber-attacks, which included attacks on the World Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal.
- François-Philippe Champagne asked the military to look into Chinese sourcing of materials for our new warships when he was trade minister.
- Canada is inviting 13 countries to discuss ways to fix the WTO – but not the US, because they want allies to save the organisation, not to burn it to the ground.
- The Independent Senators Group now has a charter to organise themselves. (I’ll have more on that in my weekend column).
- Dominic LeBlanc’s leukemia is in complete remission.
- Former Olympian Adam van Koeverden plans to contest the Liberal nomination in Milton (which is currently Lisa Raitt’s riding).
- Jagmeet Singh’s chief of staff resigned yesterday (allegedly for “personal reasons”) which has some MPs saying that this could be part of the “big reset” they need.
- Maxime Bernier says he’s attracting Conservative riding association presidents to his fledgling party. The Conservatives are just shrugging.
- The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ tests Trudeau’s statement about Supply Management being preserved in the new NAFTA deal.
- Benjamin Perrin, former lawyer of Stephen Harper, warns about the precedent the Conservatives are trying to set around Tori Stafford’s killer’s sentencing.
- Adnan Kahn shows how the Western world overlooked Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s flaws when she was under house arrest, and how this has come back to bite them.
- Justin Ling wonders if the election of the CAQ party in Quebec isn’t part of a broader pattern to start voting out traditional parties.
- Colby Cosh adds some more perspective sauce to the Quebec results, including countering the notions that the cause of separatism is really dead.
Programming note: I’m taking the full long weekend off, so I’ll see you next week! Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
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You are right on the money about how poorly the Liberals are communicating how the “CarbonTax” works. It should be fairly simple to explain. The levy on the industrial and commercial sector will deliver the largest dollar value of revenue and is designed to spur on their efforts to produce their products using as much pollution saving technologies as the they are able which in its self will produce more jobs for Canadians.
For Canadians in general for year over year the levy will force them to change their choices in where and how they spend their energy dollars, eg. buying electric cars, buying more fuel efficient trucks,making their homes and businesses less dependent upon fossil fuels for example. In short making Canadians more aware of and part of the solution to pollution and climate change which after the past years they are highly aware of the effects of this change.
The kicker here is that at the end of the year and perhaps semiannually, taxpayers except the industrial polluters will receive a rebate cheque from the province that has signed on or directly from the federal government equal or perhaps more than the levy they paid which in a recent study and report a Conservative has confirmed.
The Scheer conservatives continue to strike fear, their usual tack, in Canadians that they will be taxed to death while they advocate against action on climate change.
Of course conservatives have never change their course even when confronted by facts but when the cheques arrive I’ll bet that every conservative in Canada will gladly cash them.
Speak to any economist and they will tell you that if there is any behaviour you want or need people to do less, you charge them more to be able to do it. It’s not exactly rocket science.
That said, there are several considerations spinning off from that basic assumption:
1) The financial penalty cannot be so severe that it motivates people to pursue other undesirable behaviours. We see that with tobacco taxes; when they get too high, people smuggle. So price-point is key.
2) Any taxes gathered via such an initiative MUST be applied in a manner true to the principle and motive of imposing such a tax. Even if carbon taxes are theoretically sound, syphoning any monies into general revenue will not foster compliance or support. Any complaints about carbon taxes per se, and how such taxes end up being spent/applied are two separate issues.
3) If one feels that carbon taxes are a bad idea, then one is obliged to offer better ideas that accomplish as much, or more, with less penalty for the general public. If you don’t have anything better or as effective to offer, then shut up and keep your whining and lambasting to yourself.