I am responding to Mr. Smith’s letter which I concede was very well written and thoroughly entertaining. However, I do tire of people trying to convince me that the “carbon fee and dividend system” ( I.e. the carbon tax, as I call it) is the answer to climate change.
First of all, how effective has the implementation of the carbon tax been. It has been widely reported that current Canadian carbon emissions have been reduced by one percent over 2007 levels. Any reduction in carbon emissions has been entirely offset by increases in the nation’s population. Immigrants need homes to live in and vehicles to drive which, of course, increases emissions. Considering that Canada’s contribution is a mere 1.5 percent of global emissions, it seems to me that the effectiveness of the carbon tax is nothing more than virtue signalling. Additionally, if we have another major wildfire season like 2023, any reduction in carbon emissions is offset in just a few days.
People try to “whitewash “ the carbon tax by calling it a “carbon fee and dividend system”. In reality, it is a revenue generator for the federal government. Someone once said, “The carbon tax is not an environmental plan - it is a revenue plan.” It not only makes it more costly to fuel our vehicles and heat our homes, but it increases the costs of everything we buy including food, clothing, manufactured goods, public transportation, vacations - virtually everything we purchase in order to live. To indicate that we get all these extra costs back in the form of a quarterly dividend cheque is utterly false.
Some politicians state that industrial polluters should be made to pay the carbon tax and remove the burden from the “backs” of ordinary citizens. In theory, this sounds great but as we all know, industry cannot exist for long if operating at a loss. So what must happen is the additional costs are passed on to the consumer. In the end, it is always the consumer who pays whether it is a direct tax on commodity prices or a hidden tax on the listed price. We need to understand that that is how our system of commerce works.
I know that the government needs taxation revenue to fund their various programs but let‘s not pretend that we’re saving the world at the same time. Call me an Uncle Ricky if you like, but the sooner we get rid of the carbon tax, the better, for all Canadians.
Sincerely,
Fred Engels,
Cochrane, AB
