(Note: the video embedded down below by Annie Leonard is a clear and simple explanation of the Carbon Tax / Cap and Trade system. It might be of benefit to view this video first if you are unclear about these concepts.)
For a while, it seemed like the powers that be had won another high-stakes battle, pushing their cap-and-trade scheme through Canada by way of Justin Trudeau’s federal government. It was only a year ago that nine of ten provinces had agreed to Trudeau’s plan to usurp provincial jurisdiction and mandate a national carbon tax.
Now Saskatchewan, the lone objector at that time, has filed a reference case to its provincial court of appeal, arguing that the matter falls under provincial jurisdiction. And they are no longer the lone voice of dissent.
Ontario Bails
The newly elected Ontario government announced recently it would end the province’s cap-and-trade program, fulfilling one of Premier Doug Ford’s election promises.
“Cap-and-trade and carbon tax schemes are no more than government cash grabs that do nothing for the environment, while hitting people in the wallet in order to fund big government programs.”–Doug Ford
Citing the auditor general, the Ford government said the program could cost Ontario consumers and businesses C$8 billion, with a minimal impact on the province’s carbon emissions.
Other Provinces Join In
As this Financial Post article notes:
This week, going into the meeting of the premiers, the number of provinces supporting the Trudeau carbon tax looks like it’s down to five — or maybe even four. Soon it could be down to three.
Along with Saskatchewan and Doug Ford’s Ontario, Prince Edward Island has now said it will not accept Trudeau’s mandatory carbon tax. That’s right: a Liberal provincial government, under P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan, is now siding with conservative premiers in Ontario and Saskatchewan in fighting Trudeau’s federally imposed carbon tax. And in Newfoundland and Labrador another Liberal provincial government, led by Premier Dwight Ball, has yet to legislate a carbon tax. They wanted to wait, he said, to see what Ontario would do, first. They have their answer now.
There’s also Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister. You might remember he was in a rush to announce his own <less expensive> “made-in-Manitoba” carbon-tax plan a few months ago. More recently, Pallister’s government has said it is willing to take the Trudeau government to court so it can follow its made-in-Manitoba tax plan, not one made in Ottawa. Even New Brunswick’s Liberal Premier Brian Gallant, who is hosting the St. Andrews meeting this week, seems to be backpedaling on his support of a Trudeau carbon tax.
Power Shift
While most of the reasoning behind the political about-face of Canada’s Premiers is based on jurisdiction issues with the federal government, there may be more at play here. Behind the scenes, there may be a shift in power towards those who are not set to benefit from the cap-and-trade scheme. In the video below, Annie Leonard speaks about who is really promoting cap-and-trade and what kind of benefits they hope to get from it. She also indicates, as Doug Ford alluded to and Donald Trump has certainly said, the whole scheme does little to nothing for the environment or for humanity’s future.
[youtube id=”pA6FSy6EKrM”]
I personally believe the whole CO2/Global Warming narrative to be a hoax. But that’s a story for another article. Even if the ‘science’ is true, Leonard makes it clear that with this cap-and-trade system, world leaders are merely promoting a complicated system designed to increases the wealth and control of the powers that be. Seeing a growing number of Premiers in Canada starting to line up against the cap-and-trade system is a sign to me that things may be going in a better direction.