A job killing facts free-for-all
The hyper-politicization of carbon pricing has led to a fact free-for-all. A church here and a long commute there are both facing economic ruin with that carbon tax on everything. Alternatively, it is all sunshine and rebates with families magically better off with the carbon action incentive. While this crescendo of polarization will only increase […]
Liberal Party, feds launch campaigns to get Canadians aware of carbon price rebate
The Liberal government is pushing a broad public opinion and awareness campaign to get Canadians in the know about carbon pricing rebates, but one expert says a return at tax time won’t guarantee a bump in popular support for Ottawa’s pricing policy. The federal benchmark carbon pricing system will go into effect on April 1 […]
Plugging their methane leaks is the least oil companies could do on climate
There are no silver-bullets on climate change—but dealing with industrial methane is as close to “easy” as it gets. Or at least, it should be. It’s cheap, it will have a noticeable benefit for health and climate change in the short term, and it will create good jobs in regions where workers are hurting. The […]
Another messy compromise: carbon pricing in Canada
Climate policies differ wildly from one part of the country to another. The federal government aimed to smooth these differences with its Pan-Canadian Framework. Provinces had to meet a standard or have the federal system imposed. In practice, politics won over policy. October 2018 saw the release of long-awaited details on provincial carbon pricing policies, […]
The problem with the carbon tax
Opposition to a carbon tax has mushroomed in a short period of time, suggesting it needed little water to sprout and grow. This would not be surprising to carbon tax advocates if they had been more rooted in the importance of local circumstances in gaining public acceptance of new policy regimes. North America has always […]
Trudeau needs to show he’s serious about working collaboratively with our provincial, territorial partners on climate change
The Liberal government’s imposition of a carbon tax on every province which refuses to do so itself flies in the face of Justin Trudeau’s stated commitment to ushering in a new era of federal-provincial/territorial relations. Like so many of the prime minister’s other broken promises, this one has left Canadians, including our provincial and territorial […]
Liberal government’s carbon tax will hit farmers harder than many other Canadians
The Liberal government’s carbon tax will hit farmers harder than many other Canadians. Don’t take my word for it: the government admits it themselves in their own documents. To quote a release from the Department of Finance: “The government recognizes that particular groups or sectors require targeted relief from the fuel charge—in particular because of […]
McKenna says rebates central to getting Canadians to support carbon pricing
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is pitching to Canadians carbon pricing rebates that she says will do more than just offset what most households will pay as a result of a carbon tax. In an interview with The Hill Times on Feb. 27, Ms. McKenna (Ottawa Centre, Ont.) said the rebate program—called the Climate Action Incentive—will […]
From efficiency to effectiveness: can Canada meet its emission reduction goals through carbon pricing?
OTTAWA—Often lost in the carbon pricing debate is the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness. Most economists agree that putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions is the most efficient way to reduce the pollution driving climate change. Implementing a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system incentivizes households and businesses to make less-polluting choices at the […]
A primer on output-based carbon pricing: there’s probably more consensus than you think
The federal government’s “backstop” carbon-pricing policy will apply in provinces and territories that haven’t implemented a sufficiently broad and stringent policy of their own. The backstop has two parts. The first is the levy on the carbon embedded in fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel; this is pretty straightforward. The second is a separate […]
