Carbon Tax Rebuttal

Our local newspaper - The K-W Record wrote a very negative editorial about the Green Tax Shifting proposal on Friday, June 8th. I'm sharing my response (below). It will be published as a Second Opinion piece tomorrow, June 12th.
On Saturday, the Record’s editorial “Taxing too much” misrepresented the Green Party’s tax policy by choosing to mention only one aspect of a comprehensive and workable plan to address climate change. This is like telling someone all you need to bake a cake is a lot of flour. The Green policy is not a “massive tax hike” nor “highway robbery” and is not meant to appeal to only “diehard environmentalists.”
There is a fundamental problem with our economy; we support and subsidize the production of pollution, including a number of dangerous greenhouse gases that are contributing to global climate change, and we penalize good things like work (through income and payroll taxes) and offer no incentives to reduce emissions. The carbon tax is revenue neutral. It is not “another example of politicians seeking more money.” All revenue raised will be returned to workers and companies by way of reduced income tax and payroll tax and as an incentive to reduce emissions.
When Ms. May, leader of the Green Party unveiled specific plans to address climate change, she was exhibiting leadership and not trying to win votes by soft selling the serious situation in which we find ourselves.
Our government seems overwhelmed by the scientific consensus that global climate change is happening and will have costly and damaging affects to all economies if left unchecked. They are unable to offer a way forward that actually does change things. As everyone knows the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that one has a problem. Do Canadians think there is a problem? Surveys are showing that Canadians do rate the environment as a very important issue. Alongside the growing problems with GHG emissions, is the new reality that the age of cheap oil and gas is ending. There is still plenty of oil but refining it takes more money, more water and creates a lot of pollution. This is a big problem because cheap energy has been the main economic driver for the last century. This situation has made us complacent.
To move forward we need to reintroduce three key ingredients to the economy: efficiency, technology and conservation. There are companies that aren’t waiting for government action. One of Canada’s largest newsprint and specialty paper manufacturers, Catalyst Paper, slashed its direct CO2 emissions by 1 million tonnes from 1990-2005. How did it manage this reduction? Catalyst switched from fossil fuel use to biomass, introduced efficiency measures, got rid of old boilers, and tracked GHGs monthly. Alcan reduced its GHG emissions by 30% since 1990 while increasing production by 50%, mainly by updating its' smelting technology. Businesses are finding it necessary and profitable to include new technology, efficiency and conservation in their business plan.
We can benefit from the experience and policies in Europe because they faced these issues some 20 years ago. Instead of making outrageously presumptuous and even ignorant statements about Canada being an environmental leader we should be asking for advice and considering the policies others have embraced. Europeans have been paying significantly more at the pumps for years and the result has not been economic disaster.
Sweden introduced a carbon tax in 1991. It was set at $100 per tonne of CO2 released, twice that proposed by the Greens. It covered the domestic use of oil, coal, natural gas, petrol and aviation fuel. In 1997 the rate was raised to $150 per tonne. The Netherlands, Norway and Finland also introduced carbon taxes in the 1990’s and for three consecutive years (2003-2005) the World Economic Forum declared Finland to be the most competitive country. Are Canadians ready for these changes? The Green Party is serious about facing the consequences of a changing climate and helping people adapt to the new realities of life in the 21st century. Yes, jobs are lost during times of transition but many new jobs are created. Even Prime Minister Harper acknowledged this recently when he spoke at the Perimeter Institute.
The longer we take to do something the more drastic the measures will have to be.
Cathy MacLellan
K-W Federal Green Party Candidate