No doubt the PP crowd on the West Coast is all abuzz over the fact that they will soon enjoy his presence as part of his Axe The Tax tour. No word yet as to whether will be musical accompaniment, but Michael de Adder has some ‘sound ‘ideas in that regard:
Continue readingTag: Carbon Taxes
Alberta Politics: If you like going to the bottle depot, you’ll love the Conservative carbon tax, says Calgary MP Ron Liepert
I hear that Calgary Signal Hill Conservative MP Ron Liepert – who the Canadian Press kindly described as an experienced Alberta politician – has been using the deposit you pay on a bottle of beer to explain party Leader Erin O’Toole’s carbon tax proposal. This is a flawed metaphor, but
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why are Conservative-run Canadian provinces turning down federal cash? The answer’s in the Republican playbook
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau observed back on April 16 that the Ontario provincial government led by Premier Doug Ford was throwing roadblocks in the way of Ontario municipalities accessing federal money for needed transportation infrastructure, Conservatives responded with angry denials, and not just in Ontario. The prime minister had
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Why Andrew Scheer Will Never Have A Climate Plan
It's been about a week since Andrew Scheer shocked many Canadians by announcing that he now believes that climate change is a real problem.For obvious reasons. A few more inches of rain and he might have been floating down a river with so many others in Ontario and Quebec.But if you remember,
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Doug Ford and Jason Kenney’s Grotesque Love-In
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, a chance for Jason Kenney to visit Doug Ford and celebrate Kenney's coronation as the new King of Albertonia.And although I never thought that the meeting between the two men could be hotter than the one in the above picture.It turns out
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Justin Trudeau and the Great Carbon Tax Battle
Justin Trudeau has had to fight all kinds of battles since he came to power. He's has to fight the Cons and their grubby stooge media. He has had to fight the racists, the misogynists, the gay haters, and other bigots and far-right extremists who are slowly poisoning this country.And of course
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A generation of impulsive right-wing politicians ruins Preston Manning’s dream of ‘green capitalism’ – what’s next?
Let’s start with a pop quiz. Who said this? “One of the biggest issues will be the question of how much of current revenue from non-renewable resources should be saved and how those savings should be invested … so that, if the day ever comes that oil and gas isn’t
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A "National Emergency" – Who’s Kidding Whom?
Change is afoot. The latest report on climate change in Canada is unsettling. It’s even ominous. The only surprising part is that anyone would be surprised by the report or its findings. They closely mirror reports that we’ve been getting, at least weekly, for the past several years. The CBC’s
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Election 2019 and the Con Carbon Tax Deniers
As everybody knows Andrew Scheer and his climate change denying Cons are on a crusade to try to destroy the Liberal government's carbon tax plan.A tax Scheer blames for everything, and I mean everything.And he isn't the only Canadian Con leader who feels that way.Read more »
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Doug Ford’s Con Clown Climate Change Show
It was a scene that for some reason reminded me of the original Planet of the Apes. When the apes first talk talking, and everyone gasps in shock.For there was Doug Ford at the snooty Economic Club of Canada, pretending to be an economist.And claiming that Justin Trudeau's carbon tax plan
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Big Business Joins The Battle Against Climate Change
Whatever you do, don't tell Canada's grubby gang of Con climate change deniers anything. For I doubt they could survive the shock.They want us to believe that fighting global warming is too expensive, not worth it, and bad for business.And of course, that Justin Trudeau's job killing carbon tax is the worst
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Seriously, what’s the good of an effective carbon tax if it’s politically impossible to implement?
Recent political developments in France and Alberta, though quite different in tone, suggest carbon taxes may not be a viable way to address climate change – leastways not without reaching an unlikely consensus they must be imposed. You may not believe me yet, but you can count on it, politicians
Continue readingMontreal Simon: How To Use The Carbon Tax Issue To Destroy The Cons
As you know, I believe that some of the most powerful Cons in the country, the ones I call the Carbon Gang, have made a fatal mistake.They have all vowed to destroy Justin Trudeau's federal carbon tax at a time when scientists are warning the planet is burning.And carbon taxes
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Carbon taxes are the Obamacare of Canada: invented, then cynically abandoned, by the right
“Putting a price on carbon” was always going to be unpopular with people who use fossil fuels out of necessity and for fun – viz., a large portion of the population in a well-off northern country that, climate change notwithstanding, still gets pretty cold in the winter. In other words,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: On The Carbon Tax
Now that Ontario, under the thuggish leadership of Doug Ford, is in the process of withdrawing Ontario from its cap-and-trade alliance with Quebec and California, baring a failure of political will, next year will see Justin Trudeau imposing a carbon tax here and in other recalcitrant provinces. Despite the fact
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Truth About Carbon Pricing
The taxation levels for carbon set by the federal government will likely prove wholly inadequate in getting people to modify their behaviour to combat climate change. However, given the exit of Ontario from its cap-and-trade program by the incoming populist and reactionary Doug Ford, the truth is, it’s better than
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Like a Punch In the Gut
Five words that sum up a lawsuit underway against the European Union. Five words that perhaps should be a rallying cry for people around the world. We Can’t See a Future Lawyers acting for a group including a French lavender farmer and members of the indigenous Sami community in Sweden
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Damage Control From A Disingenuous Dick
Apologies for my rather coarse title, but it seemed the only appropriate way to describe that Dorian-Gray-in-reverse-politician, Chris Alexander, who provided a conductorial complement to a rabid crowd in Edmonton offended by the very concept of taxation in general, and carbon taxes in particular. At a rally in Edmonton hosted
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Star Readers Write
These days, my faith in the future is quite limited. The proliferation of war and the ongoing reluctance of governments to do anything substantive about climate change, despite its increasingly obvious effects, both speak to the refusal of our species to rise above our base animal impulses and use the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A compelling counter-narrative: Are Justin Trudeau and Rachel Notley singing from the same hymn book?
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Chris Schwarz, Premier of Alberta/Flickr). Below: Brad Wall, Saskatchewan’s cranky premier; a tease from the Calgary Herald’s web page that maybe, just maybe, swings and misses; SAIT journalism instructor and former Calgary Herald reporter Jim Cunningham. CALGARY Was Prime
Continue reading