To the Editor,
Most people have low expectations from the politicians we elect to represent us. But the least we should expect is honesty especially when it comes to addressing issues. One such issue is the carbon tax and the rebates associated with it.
Recently our MP, Blake Richards, using his overused parliamentary mailing privileges, sent out a newsletter claiming that Alberta families will pay an additional $2,943 in 2024-2025 because of the recent carbon tax increase on April 1st.
Calculating my additional CT burden I ended up having to pay an extra $15 per year (from the use of a car) with a carbon tax rebate of $900 for the same period. As I am a single economist, who drives less than normal in a fuel efficient car, and lives in an apartment where the heat is provided as part of the rent I decided to calculate the CT burden for a family of four living in an average bungalow style house and having two less efficient cars to fuel. Each car would cost an extra $48 (.032/litre X 1500 litres) per year (1500 litres of gas X 10KM's per litre = 15,000 Km's per year) X 2 =$96.
The average bungalow uses 120 Gigajoules of energy for heating so the extra cost for the period is $92.16. (120 GJ's X .768/GJ). For this $188 expenditure the family of four receives a rebate of $1,800. In essence citizens of this federal riding are being spun, duped, and scammed by the Blake Richards' newsletter.
What we all should remember is politicians approach issues in the following way. 1) Ignore, 2) deny, 3) deflect, 4) divert/digress, and finally 5) distract. All are to be found in the Blake Richards' newsletter.
Sincerely,
James Perras,
Cochrane, AB
