Roundup: Axing the other tax, just because

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Because he is unable to pivot, or have any kind of plan B, Pierre Poilievre went to a steel plant yesterday to announce that he will not only repeal the full legislation that implemented the carbon levy, but he’ll also repeal the industrial carbon price under the bullshit magical thinking of “technology, not taxes.” The problem? Most provinces have their own industrial pricing schemes, and the federal backstop only applies to a couple of provinces, and mostly it set a price floor so that provinces can’t undercut one another. None of this is actually news, thought, as he’s been saying it for months, but most legacy media treated this as new and novel. Industry doesn’t like his plan—they prefer the industrial pricing system because it provides stability. But Poilievre needs a tax to axe, so he’s going all-in on making this a carbon price election after all, because he’s that incapable.

 

The problem with “technology not taxes” is that the price signals sent by carbon pricing are what incentivise companies to invest in the technology to reduce emissions. They won’t do it out of the goodness of their hearts. They need to feel the squeeze before they’ll invest to make the changes, and that won’t happen if they are given free licence to just pollute without consequence. You would think that a conservative party would understand market dynamics, but no. They don’t have an intellectual grounding any longer, they’re just rage-baiters looking to “own the Libs” by any means necessary. Oh, and the EU is going to start putting in carbon border adjustments, so if we’re pivoting our trade to those markets, well, our not having a price will find us being punished by their markets, so maybe this is a really dumb idea after all.

Ukraine Dispatch

Ukraine’s military shot down 90 out of 170 drones overnight Monday, with damage and injuries reported in Odesa. Russians also claim that they are moving ahead in Zaporizhzhia region, saying they are pushing through Ukrainian lines. Ukraine has attacked energy facilities in Russia’s Astrakhan region, sparking a fire.

Good reads:

  • Mark Carney began the day in France with Emmanuel Macron about intelligence and security, then headed to London to meet with the King, followed by Keir Starmer.
  • At the end of the trip, Carney made the point that we can stand up for our own sovereignty without anyone else’s approval (before getting snippy with reporters).
  • The director of CSIS is at an international intelligence summit hosted by the head of India’s intelligence agency. (Yes, thatIndian intelligence service).
  • Here is a look at how many exporters from Canada are scrambling to complete their NAFTA compliance paperwork after the last tariff round.
  • Immigration lawyers are warning that Canadians in the US can’t carry on as they did before when it comes to lapsing visas and work permits.
  • The Federal Court dismissed an attempted class action lawsuit by Black civil servants, saying it didn’t meet the procedural criteria for a class action.
  • The second set of human remains found at the Winnipeg landfill has been identified.
  • Patricia Treble notes the uptick in events that the King of Canada has had in that capacity, some of the “signs of support” are actually usual.
  • Justin Ling points to Carney’s vagueness in his promises, and how most of his ideas are not new (but also misses the provincial dimension of them).
  • Paul Wells remarks on Poilievre’s faux promises around climate, and why it’s a symptom of voters who don’t care about policy, only about “trading up.”

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Axing the other tax, just because”

  1. I just heard the other day a panel lamenting the cancellation of the carbon tax and explaining how it worked, and what a significant measure it was, while complaining the Liberals didn’t sell it well enough. When it was under fire, they were all, the PBO says this, and Polievre says that, and is this true, does it really do anything, and it’s all so confusing…

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