Mac Olsen
Once a tax is imposed, a government will never abolish it. They are addicted to that revenue source, even when the purpose it’s used for doesn’t produce the expected results. That will certainly be the case with the forthcoming federal and provincial carbon taxes from our left-wing governments.
These will be just more tax grabs to punish those who use fossil fuel-based energy for their daily living. And it’s all to please the “green necks” that support these left-wing governments.
But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Rachel Notley should take a lesson from Premier Kathleen Wynne’s situation in Ontario. Many residents there are frustrated by the high cost of electricity – all because of her forced “green agenda” of wind mills and other non-petroleum technologies. Our Prime Minister and premier should be prepared for backlashes against their respective carbon taxes.
Those with low incomes are supposed to receive GST-like credits to offset the new financial burdens that will be imposed on them.
But how far will that go for somebody living on $15,000 per year? Are they going to have to choose between food and heat? Food and transportation? Food and rent? Food and clothing for their children?
And what will Trudeau and Notley do with their new revenue sources? Impose directives for every municipality, business and residence to use wind power or solar power?
And what kinds of employment and industries are supposed to be created from these carbon taxes? Are Trudeau and Notley going to try and attract Elon Musk to build and sell electric vehicles here? How much money would Musk demand to grace us with his presence?
And guess what? Electric vehicles need to be charged frequently and they have limited range. Moreover, don’t expect electric vehicles to do well in extremely cold winters, especially in the Peace Country.
Also, where do electric vehicles get their power from? Facilities like hydroelectric dams, which are also condemned by “green necks” as degrading to the environment. So, under any cost-benefit analysis, electric vehicles aren’t practical.
Moreover, even if Alberta and the rest of Canada replaced fossil fuels entirely with so-called “green energy,” all levels of government would be looking to replace the loss of tax revenue from the petroleum industry. They don’t want to lose tax revenue under any circumstances and would find a way to make up for the loss of this one.
As it is, we are already forced to pay much of our annual incomes out in payroll taxes, fuel taxes, property taxes and sales taxes. These carbon taxes will simply be one more undue burden forced on us by left-wing governments.
And any anyway you slice it, these taxes won’t do anything to address “climate change,” especially when our carbon emissions are already low compared to other countries.
So, just say no to these governments’ tax addictions. We taxpayers already support their addictions too much and shouldn’t have to tolerate more undue hardship.