Economist Steve Ambler says carbon taxes ‘make everything more expensive’
A leading Canadian economist says the case for carbon taxes is limited, with its proponents delivering more rhetoric than reality. In an interview, Steve Ambler, an economics professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal, gave an excellent analysis of one of Canada’s most controversial taxes. He disagrees with a Supreme Court verdict that called…
Enough with the political excuses and inaction
If you’ve had to drive your kids to hockey, go grocery shopping or commute to work, you’ve likely cursed every time you saw the price at the pump. Gas prices have now reached a high of over $1.50 per litre. That’s the highest level since Statistics Canada started tracking this data in 1990. Higher gas…
Living in B.C. is unaffordable for many people and carbon taxes make it worse
Drivers in Vancouver are paying record-smashing prices at the gas pump and taxes are an extra kick in the head. Prices have hit more than $2 per litre for regular gasoline in Metro Vancouver. That’s the highest gasoline price in North America, along with the highest gasoline taxes. Before chuckling at the pipeline-blocking-moon-units getting their…
And taxes are a big part of the problem
The price at the gas pumps has hit a record-breaking $1.82 per litre in Vancouver. That’s the most expensive gasoline in North America. While some readers in Winnipeg and Calgary might chuckle at the karma coming back to bite a city whose mayor personally blocked the building of pipelines, it’s important to remember that bad…
Let them eat cake
Politicians and government decision makers are financially divorced from the Canadians they’re supposed to represent. And it shows. From higher taxes to revolving lockdowns, government decisions during the pandemic have been full of pain. But that pain hasn’t been felt by those pulling the levers. Quite the opposite. While millions of their constituents struggled, members…
Taxes make up a third of the price at the pumps
The collective blood pressure of Ontario taxpayers surged recently as gas prices hit record levels across the province. In large part, hardworking taxpayers can blame the federal government for soaring costs. For the first time ever, gas prices in Ontario crossed the $1.50 per litre threshold. A family that took their minivan and sedan to…
He forgot that Canadians aren’t stupid
Here’s a free tip for all Conservative Party leadership candidates: don’t break your promise to fight carbon taxes. Former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole lied to taxpayers about the carbon tax. And he paid the price. The next leader of the Official Opposition needs to hold Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accountable for rising tax bills.…
And the Conservatives are giving the government a free pass
It’s bone-chilling cold, carbon tax costs are rising and politicians don’t seem to give a flying fox foot about it. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the biggest carbon tax cheerleader in North America and the Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has grabbed the pom-poms, too. Toronto and Ottawa just got a huge dump of snow, and…
His flip-flop on a carbon tax makes that unlikely
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole should be hammering the government over the soaring cost of living. But his own carbon tax flip-flop is holding him back. O’Toole recently held a Facebook Live where he addressed one of the key concerns facing Canadian families. “In Canada, we’re already almost at five per cent [inflation], the highest rate…
Cut the gas excise tax and deliver meaningful savings to everyday Ontario families
The countdown is on to get a gas tax cut in the province of Ontario. Late last year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would keep his promise to cut the provincial gas excise tax by 5.7 cents per litre, nearly four years after he first made the commitment to Ontario voters. After years of…
A large portion of deficit spending is artificially inflating demand, and prices
Many factors influence prices, but that doesn’t mean politicians should be let off the hook for the rising cost of living. By printing new dollars, propping up consumer demand, discouraging production and raising taxes, Canadian governments have created the perfect storm for rising prices: more dollars chasing fewer goods. Since February 2020, the Bank of…
Families are getting soaked by higher prices while politicians are asleep at the wheel
The federal government is putting on a masterclass about how to increase the cost of living. It’s doing everything from raising taxes during the middle of a pandemic to massive government borrowing and money printing. Now the question is: will any politician do anything to fight inflation? The latest report from Statistics Canada shows prices…
Emissions going up despite the province having the highest carbon taxes in North America
Carbon taxes are an expensive failure when it comes to reducing emissions Emissions in British Columbia are going up despite the province having the highest carbon taxes in North America. Think you’ve read this before? That’s because this keeps happening. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again while expecting a…
Carbon border taxes won’t save the climate but they will create trouble for the world economy
Carbon taxes at borders are becoming a popular idea among some countries and regions of the world. It’s an idea destined to damage the global economy. For example, the European Commission, the European Union executive institution, wants environmental tariffs “on imports from countries with less stringent climate-protection rules.” Democrats in the United States Senate proposed…
Climate simulation models are no more real than your favourite video game
In a recent article about climate change, Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein gave us a master class on how to sell the results of a computer model as if it represents reality. In his world, a group of scientists can take a short-term heat wave, crank it through an “ensemble” of theoretical mathematical climate…