Carbon tax debate distracts from real issue
Canadians need to turn their attention to addressing the global climate crisis
Future generations will look at the carbon tax opposition and ask, “what were they thinking? Why did they protest one of the most cost-effective methods of lowering carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?”
A three cents a litre gas increase and a quarterly rebate that is higher than the amount spent on the carbon tax for 80 per cent of the Canadian population is hardly a hill to choose to die on.
If you listen to the opposition, one might think that we are facing a tax Armageddon with prices spiralling out of control and people having to choose if they should eat or pay the rent.
According to Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, the effect of the carbon tax on the economy is small to negligible, or about 0.15 per cent of a percentage point of the rate of inflation.
Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre and his “axe the tax” slogan should be called 'axe the facts' as he continues to play fast and loose with his perceived impact of a carbon tax.
Scott Moe poked his head above the parapet last week and addressed the federal Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. When he was asked what alternatives he had in mind, he drew a blank and stated that they had looked at other alternatives, but they were too costly.
Therefore, his alternative is to do nothing.
Premiers Danielle Smith from Alberta and Blaine Higgs from New Brunswick also addressed the committee, and their comments were bereft of any alternative policies that would reduce global warming. Their only suggestion was to get rid of the carbon tax.
On the other hand, there is real money being spent on climate change. Home insurance has increased 33 per cent from April 2018 to the same month in 2023. According to Statistics Canada, nine of the costliest years in Canada have occurred since 2011.
We live in a multinational world so the cost of hurricanes in Florida, or floods in New Brunswick, or forest fires that wipe out an entire town like Lytton, B.C., are all factored into the annual home insurance premiums.
Some locations now have premiums that are highly expensive or in some cases nonexistent. Homeowners in some California forests now find they are unable to insure their homes.
This is the future for property owners and it will only get worse. The insurance increases will pale in comparison to three cents on a litre of gasoline.
The cost of the climate crisis continues to climb. Last summer's forest fires were the worst in history and this summer is shaping up to be equal or worse. The loss of valuable timber is hindering the lumber industry.
The reduction in the snowpack in the mountains will reduce the flow of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers. A drought coupled with reduced river flow will make the dream of irrigation just that, a dream.
During a Saskatchewan winter, we tend to forget that the rest of the world exists. February 2024 was the hottest month on record with heat waves in Australia and South America.
February was the ninth month in a row that global records have been broken. It should be clear that the climate crisis is upon us and it can't be ignored anymore.
Some people complain that we are only a small part of the total carbon output globally. This might be true, but so are most other countries except for the United States and China. All the countries add up and create the climate crisis that is doing serious damage globally.
Many of the world's leaders and politicians are taking a short-term view of the climate crisis. They see only as far as the next election or the current budget. This myopic view of the future is shallow and takes us only further down the road of global warming.
The federal government has set the bar at slashing emissions by 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. We have six years remaining to meet that target. It's a tall order, but the environment demands it. This is a crisis of mankind's own making and it's up to us to correct it.