Carbon tax questions need answers (with poll)

Calgary Herald Editorial Board
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The NDP didn’t mention during last year’s election campaign that it would implement a carbon tax, so it’s surprising Environment Minister Shannon Phillips is so strident in defending the government’s controversial levy.

Phillips creates the impression that anybody who has the audacity to question the NDP’s action is anti-Earth.

“The political right in this province can barely conceal their contempt for Premier Notley and her government,” Phillips said this week.

“And as we move back into the legislature, we will all hear over and over again now is not the right time for action. For some, there will never be a right time.”

We’re accustomed to bluster from politicians, but surely Phillips must realize that a scheme to take $3 billion a year out of the economy and dole it out in rebates and subsidies for renewable energy projects, all in an untested attempt to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, is bound to invite discussion.

British Columbia’s version is revenue neutral, meaning the costs associated with the tax have been offset by tax cuts in other areas.

The head of the Mining Association of Canada, for instance, has pointed out the challenge of carbon leakage in critiquing British Columbia’s tax. Carbon leakage punishes jurisdictions that implement a tax and rewards those that do not with jobs and investment — all the while doing nothing to address climate change concerns because total global greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.

“A trade-exposed sector like mining sells its products at a fixed international market price, no matter where they are mined. If a mine in one country has a carbon tax added to its cost base, while a mine in another jurisdiction does not, then the former faces a competitive disadvantage,” says Pierre Gratton, the mining association’s president and CEO.

The same is true of Canada’s energy industry, of course, which competes with producers around the world that are not subjected to a carbon tax, including the United States. It’s also true of Canada’s beleaguered beef industry. The Canada Cattle Feeders Association estimates the carbon tax will cost its members between $6 and $7 per head.

Then there’s the way the NDP has structured its carbon tax. British Columbia’s version is revenue neutral, meaning the costs associated with the tax have been offset by tax cuts in other areas. This means B.C. residents are still motivated to reduce their carbon footprint, but they aren’t shelling out billions of dollars in extra taxes to the government. If the NDP had pursued such an approach, it probably wouldn’t face as much criticism from Canadans who rightly question the soundness of its plan.

Instead of castigating opposition MLAs and other Canadans for raising legitimate questions, Phillips should be providing greater detail. When families pay an additional, say, $1,000 in taxes next year, for instance, and are ineligible for a rebate, what advantage are they receiving from the carbon levy? Why are they ponying up the money so corporate welfare can be extended to companies operating costly renewable electricity projects?

Canadans don’t need feigned moral outrage from Phillips, they need answers.