![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/NI_trudeau_Dec2020-300x188.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Niagara Independent, December 15, 2020\u00a0 \u2013 <\/em>At an Ottawa press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled more of the government\u2019s green agenda by providing details of a schedule of carbon tax hikes. Then on Saturday, PM Trudeau proclaimed to an international audience at a United Nations conference that Canadians are committed to ambitious emission targets and to paying for the U.N.\u2019s international climate activities.<\/p>\n At the launch event in Ottawa, the PM pledged the country would exceed its 2030 emissions reductions targets under the Paris Accord \u2013 primarily through punitive carbon tax increases scheduled annually through the next decade. Trudeau stated, \u201cDuring the campaign, our government committed to exceed Canada\u2019s existing 2030 climate target and support new jobs for Canadians. Today, we have delivered our plan to reach that goal. At the same time, we are laying out new, more ambitious targets for the coming years. Canada will continue to lead in the fight against climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n The next day, Trudeau played a supporting role to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres who urged all governments to declare a state of \u201cglobal climate emergency\u201d until the world has reached net zero CO2 emissions. At the U.N.\u2019s Climate Ambition Summit, Trudeau boldly declared, \u201cWe will raise our emission reduction ambitions,\u201d and he said Canada will \u201cremain committed to making significant investments in international climate finance.\u201d<\/p>\n Central to the Trudeau Government\u2019s green agenda is a hike in the federal carbon tax from the current $30 to $170 a tonne in the next 10 years. In layman\u2019s terms, the current price on carbon translates to Canadians paying roughly an extra 2.3 cents per litre of gasoline. By the end of 2022, the tax will be roughly 15 cents per litre. The carbon tax is scheduled to increase each year for eight years and will top off in 2030 at 53 cents per litre. (This per litre tax figure does not account for the Clean Fuel Standard tax that is to be levied next year, nor the GST that is applied on top of the taxes.)<\/p>\n Based on current gas prices, in 2030 Canadians will pay roughly an additional $27 in carbon taxes to fill up a minivan, $45 extra for a pickup truck \u2014 and truck drivers will pay $204 extra to fill one diesel fuel cylinder on the tractor trailers that deliver our food and merchandise.<\/p>\n Though specific details were not released, the Government also announced that the cost of\u00a0light fuel oil for\u00a0home heating, natural gas, and propane will rise through the decade as well.<\/p>\n The government explains the rationale for its green agenda in the climate plan document released by the PM on Friday. It states, \u201cThe principle is straightforward: a carbon price establishes how much businesses and households need to pay for their pollution. The higher the price, the greater the incentive to pollute less, conserve energy\u00a0and invest in low-carbon solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n The document identifies 64 new measures that will cost Canadians $15 billion in federal investment. Government programs will soon be announced to fund home retrofits, provide rebates and tax write-offs for people who can afford zero-emissions vehicles, improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and fund dozens of proposed policies laid out over the documents 79 pages.<\/p>\n The government remains vague on its total spending plans although it suggests there will be many forthcoming policy announcements. The document outlines, \u201cThe Greening Government Strategy applies to all core government departments and agencies.\u201d It announces that the federal government will look at the environmental impact of everything it manages: 32,000 buildings, 30,000 vehicles, and 20,000 engineered assets such as bridges and dams. It also suggests the government will be imposing new regulations that will impact the $20 billion of goods and services it purchases annually. Suffice to conclude, the total costs of the Trudeau green agenda will be unfathomable for the average Canadian to factor (which is likely why the government ignored providing the total costs).<\/p>\n The Trudeau Government\u2019s green agenda was highlighted at the U.N.\u2019s Climate Ambition Summit as an example of what can be done. In a\u00a0Sun Media<\/em>\u00a0news column, Lorrie Goldstein reports on the U.N.\u2019s message to its member states: that governments \u201chave a major role in setting the conditions under which lifestyle changes can occur, through shaping policy, regulations and infrastructure investments \u2026 COVID-19 has provided insight into how rapid lifestyle changes can be brought about by governments \u2026 The lockdown period in many countries may be long enough to establish new, lasting routines if supported by longer term measures. In planning the recovery from COVID-19, governments have an opportunity to catalyse low-carbon lifestyle changes by disrupting entrenched practices.\u201d<\/p>\n Goldstein reveals that the U.N. advises governments to achieve their climate change goals \u201cthrough taxation and other policies affecting fundamental decisions we make about our lives, from what we eat (preferably meatless, low-carbon diets), to how we travel (less by air, more by subsidized electric cars), to how we power our homes (with wind and solar energy, at least for \u201chigher income\u201d earners, given the costs) and much, much more.\u201d<\/p>\n However ideal this is for the U.N. objectives, some Canadian leaders have begun to push back. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has accused PM Trudeau and former Environment Minister Catherine McKenna of lying to Canadians when they repeatedly, categorically stated they would not increase the carbon tax beyond the 2022 tax of 15 cents per litre.<\/p>\n Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon called the tax \u201canother attack on Alberta\u2019s economy and Alberta\u2019s jurisdiction,\u201d stating that it will suppress investment and raise costs of everything for businesses and individuals. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Fraser Institute and Pembina Institute\u00a0all expressed concern for the federal plan. Western Canadian Wheat Growers stated the tax increases are outrageous: \u201cIt\u2019s going to kill agriculture in Canada and make us uncompetitive on the world market.\u201d<\/p>\n Last word goes to Premier Doug Ford who plainly expressed his exasperation at the increased taxes imposed on Canadians, \u201cI can\u2019t understand for the life of me why anyone would want to put a burden on the backs\u00a0of the hard-working people in this province. This carbon tax is going to be the worst thing you\u2019ll ever see\u2026 price hikes on everything as increased transportation costs get passed on to consumers. God bless the environment, don\u2019t get me wrong \u2026 but I\u2019ve never, ever been more disappointed in an announcement ever since I\u2019ve been in politics\u2026 We\u2019re doing everything we can to create an environment for people to thrive, and all of a sudden a sledgehammer comes and hits you over the head.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n