Two takes on carbon tax

Re: No longer free to pollute in Canada, says Trudeau; and Business slams carbon rebate, Oct. 24

Our PM is now promoting a carbon tax, which will surely make Canadian businesses less competitive on the world stage. This tax on pollution is being championed by the same man who does not seem to worry about spewing thousands of gallons of fuel into the atmosphere as he jets all over the world at the drop of a hat.

The Liberals wilfully ignore the fact that policies like the carbon tax will not make our country stronger, nor will they help ordinary Canadians in the long term.

Whether we examine the purchase of a pipeline to nowhere, the incomprehensible acquisition of 30-yearold obsolete warplanes, the government-sponsored incubation of Big Marijuana, or the desire to add yet another tax to an arsenal of taxes, this government keeps on demonstrating that it is extremely good at making bad decisions. Ben Anson, Montreal

Re: Planning in an age of climate ague, Oct. 27, Rex Murphy; and Lower carbon emissions with lower taxes, Gwyn Morgan, Oct. 25 While many pundits, politicians and commentators have expressed their opinions on the process and finer points of applying the government’s “price-on-pollution” plan, Rex Murphy is the first writer to ask: Why the hell are we doing this?

He says: “Canada’s minute calibrations toward reducing CO2 through an energy tax will be wiped out in a week by China’s roaring industries. In the fantastical ambition to change the Earth’s climate, Canada is not even a player.”

So, the government is going to tax our industries, making them less competitive on the world stage, for some minuscule benefit to global climate change. What a farce.

To the degree that climate change is caused by carbon emissions, the remediation of the problem must be global. But that does not mean Canada should do nothing.

As outlined in the article by Gwyn Morgan, we could substantially reduce our own and the world’s carbon output by converting gasolineor diesel-fuelled vehicles to natural gas or assisting Third World countries to convert their coal plants to natural gas.

The rate of reduction per dollar spent at a global level would be huge compared to Canada’s current plan.

This will require some out-of-the-box thinking.

But, if a few like-minded countries could get together to propose, advocate and facilitate innovative solutions that would reduce global carbon emissions without depending on inefficient domestic tax systems, the fight against global climate change might be won sooner. Brian Cox, Ottawa