Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be really desperate to ramrod a carbon tax on Canada.
His latest effort involves the $2 billion Low Carbon Economy Fund. The fund itself isn’t a bad idea, but Trudeau’s way of implementing the fund is aggravating.
Only the provinces that have a carbon tax will be eligible for the fund. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have balked at the carbon tax so far, so they won’t receive a dime from this fund, regardless of how relevant their projects are, or how much those projects will improve the environment.
The world-leading carbon capture and storage project that opened at the Boundary Dam Power Station in 2014 would seemingly be a perfect project for the Low Carbon Economy Fund. The federal government has praised the project. The issues that existed have been resolved, and with the exception of a current shutdown, it has been operating consistently for the past 20 months.
But if the provincial government wants to access this fund for the retrofitting of Units 4 and 5, then it has to sign on to a carbon tax that is not beneficial for Saskatchewan as a whole.
And if the provincial government wants to access funding for a solar power project, or a wind farm, or geothermal electricity, or any one of a number of other projects that will benefit the environment, then they have to capitulate on the carbon tax issue.
Premier Brad Wall is right when he says the best option for curbing carbon emissions is through investment in technology, such as carbon capture and storage, rather than imposing another tax that will only serve to punish the people of the province and its economy.
In this instance, it feels like the Liberals are trying to do what’s best for its carbon tax, rather than what’s best for the environment.
Wall needs to continue to fight the Liberals on the carbon tax issue. We doubt he’ll cave in to the feds, even with this new federal funding available. The people of the province will pay a lot more through the carbon tax than they will get back from the Low Carbon Economy Fund.
A carbon tax will ultimately hurt the oil and gas sector and the mining industry. It will have negative repercussions for farmers, truckers and a host of other people in this province.
Also, with the tactics that are taking place south of the border when it comes to climate change, a carbon tax will hurt Saskatchewan’s competitiveness. If a company has the choice of coming to Saskatchewan, which has a government-imposed carbon tax, or North Dakota or Montana, which don’t have one, which jurisdiction do you think they will go to?
The carbon tax is one area where the federal government should be staying out of the way of the provincial governments. Let them make the decision on whether they believe a carbon tax is in its best interests when it comes to combating climate change.
And then the government can come in with such programs as the Low Carbon Economy Fund to allow the provinces to proceed with projects that will benefit people and the environment.
