So the next bit of nonsense from the Ignatieff Me website posted by a desperate Conservative Government has to do with the Carbon Tax. They did such a great job turning it into the boogey man last election, that they are going to give it one more spin around the block.
However, while they claim that Michael Igantieff can't run from the Carbon tax, the rest of the world is running toward it, and most top environmentalists agree that it is the best answer to fight climate change.
In fact, some opponents of the "cap and trade" introduced by Barack Obama, have said that his "cap and trade" is a carbon tax, because permits will have to be purchased.
When asked the question: "Do you believe that we need a carbon tax in addition to a cap-and-trade program?"
Obama answered: "I believe that, depending on how it is designed, a carbon tax accomplishes much of the same thing that a cap-and-trade program accomplishes. The danger in a cap-and-trade system is that the permits to emit greenhouse gases are given away for free as opposed to priced at auction. One of the mistakes the Europeans made in setting up a cap-and-trade system was to give too many of those permits away. So as I roll out my proposals for a cap-and-trade system, I will price permits so that it has much of the same effect as a carbon tax."
Jim Prentice has stated that he will be following the model outlined by the U.S. "Canada's Conservative government, shifting positions in the wake of Barack Obama's election as U.S. president, said on Wednesday that it would work to develop a North America-wide cap-and-trade system to limit emissions of greenhouse gases."
However, many experts suggest that if Obama is altering his "cap and trade" to function as a carbon tax, why not just call it a carbon tax and go for the full package?
The Real Price of Obama's Cap-and-Trade Plan President Obama's budget numbers depend heavily on revenues from a proposed cap-and-trade program for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Under the plan, these revenues will come at the cost of higher energy prices ....
Before the last election, Harper was telling everyone who'd listen that cleaning up the oil sands would be costly and we could expect a rise in prices on gasoline and home heating, as a result. He brought forward a form of the 'cap and trade', that MacLeans Magazine said, when compared to the Liberal Green Shift, was 'just as expensive, twice as confusing and half as effective'.
From the Wall Street Journal: "Cap and trade is the tax that dare not speak its name, and Democrats are hoping in particular that no one notices who would pay for their climate ambitions. With President Obama depending on vast new carbon revenues in his budget and Congress promising a bill by May, perhaps Americans would like to know the deeply unequal ways that climate costs would be distributed across regions and income groups."
From BusinessWeek: "...Obama proposes that companies buy an allowance, or permit, for each ton of carbon emitted, at an estimated cost, to start, of $13 to $20 per ton. (Those permits could also be bought and sold.) Even at the lower range of $13 per ton, energy companies and utilities would likely pass along the added cost to consumers. It's estimated the price of gasoline would go up by 12 cents a gallon and the average electricity bill by about 7% nationally..."
I tend to agree with Green Party Spokesman John Bennett, when he says "I think the Canadian government is just trying to con the Canadian public into believing that it's going to do something about climate change".
I don't think they really have any intention of doing anything to fight climate change, but are just pretending to. Most of us believe they are just buying time, but if in fact they do adopt the U.S. 'Cap and trade' model; my friends - WE HAVE A CONSERVATIVE CARBON TAX!!!!!
Run, Harper, Run!!!!!
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