The North Knows: The Carbon Tax is a Scam
The carbon tax is coming to two out of Canada’s three territories just in time to celebrate Canada Day, and as the saying goes, “words matter.”
So when northerners hear Liberal politicians talk about climate change using buzz words like “carbon levy” or “putting a price on pollution,” our baloney detector starts making noises.
We’re told the carbon tax will somehow magically put more money back in our pockets than it originally took out.
But money doesn’t just magically appear; it has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is some other taxpayer’s pocket.
We have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking from one Canadian and giving to another, trying to present himself as some modern-day figurative Robin Hood.
A government that claims ability to give you more back than you put in is not telling the whole story.
Sadly, anyone who questions this, or who questions the effectiveness of a Canadian tax having any measurable effect on global temperatures gets quickly labeled by Liberals as a climate change “denier.”
Northerners don’t need some alarmist, virtue-signaling politician from Ottawa – yet alone Paris – frightening us with the climate change bogeyman, we only need to look out the window, we live it every day in the north.
We all want to “do our part” to leave a better world for our children, and northerners better than most appreciate how urgently modern civilization must adapt its habits to minimize our often wasteful and consumption-based lifestyles.
But citizens of all free countries should be very suspicious of any government who uses fear as a motivator, especially if the solution to the crisis is to hand over more of your hard-earned money.
The Liberals tell us that the “experts agree” a tax is the most effective way to address climate change.
Yet ironically the economists who endorse taxation as a means to reduce emissions concur the Liberal approach won’t work.
It would need to be orders of magnitude greater if ever to be effective.
Plus, the much-lauded rebate, (which the Liberals have staked no small share of their re-election fortunes on), essentially negates any affect the tax may have on altering behavior by collecting it in the first place.
We’re told that each and every act of paying the tax at point of purchase “will help us reconsider our choices,” but in the next breath we’re told “the tax is so low we won’t even notice it.”
It can’t work both ways.
With regard to the former, we have government’s heavy hand in our pockets employing intentionally punitive measures, deliberately limiting taxpayers’ ability to make their own purchasing decisions.
And with regards to the latter, anyone who suggests that even the slightest increase in monthly household costs won’t be noticed is grossly out of touch with the budgetary reality millions of Canadians face daily.
And the Liberals wonder why they are labeled as the party of the elites?
“The price of doing nothing is too high!” our virtuous Liberal overlords cry.
But that’s assuming the only possible means of “taking action” consists of raising the price of every single essential service or product, which of course it isn’t.
As the Canadians most affected, northerners are well-positioned to demonstrate leadership in climate change adaptation and implementation of measures that maximize efficiency and minimize consumption.
Actions that actually reduce emissions.
Instead of taking money from everybody and deciding who gets it back and who doesn’t, why don’t the Liberals let northerners decide how to best invest our own money in locally-benefitting, cost-effective solutions that actually help the environment, as opposed to some blatant re-election scam designed to appeal to certain demographics of voters?
Perhaps our government could try using a carrot instead of a stick.
Because while the Prime Minister likes to talk about “putting a price” on everything, northerners are ready and willing to genuinely reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
All that is needed is a government who will keep their hands out of our pockets.
Jonas J. Smith
2019 Candidate - Yukon Conservative Party of Canada