Pierre Poilievre’s sloganeering is based on a false premise. But the Liberals fumbled a smart policy
The year 2023 was by far the warmest in human history. Climate extremes now routinely shock in their intensity, with a direct monetary cost that borders on the unfathomable. Over $3 trillion (US) in damages to infrastructure, property, agriculture, and human health have already slammed the world economy this century, owing to extreme weather. That number will likely pale in comparison to what is coming. The World Economic Forum, hardly a hotbed of environmental activists, now reports that global damage from climate change will probably cost some $1.7 trillion to $3.1 trillion (US) per year by 2050, with the lion’s share of the damage borne by the poorest countries in the world.
And yet we fiddle.
In today’s Canada, there is deception, national in scope, coming directly from the right‑wing opposition benches in Ottawa. In 2023, the populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre adopted “Axe the tax” as his new mantra and has shaped his federal election campaign around that hackneyed rhyme.
Spoke with 2 co-workers the other day about the Carbon Tax Refund. Both said it was bullshit and neither were receiving anything.
I said bullshit, check your ‘My CRA’ and it’ll be there.
Turns out one guy owes $6K so his carbon tax refund is paying that off and the other’s wife is collecting it as only 1 person per household can receive it.
Both clueless but both were very vocal about something they don’t understand. We’re truly fucked as a species.
And this is why I went down this hypothetical. Perhaps doing transit subsidies and buildouts, heavy EV subsidies would be something most would see and understand. And I’m talking about heavy subsidies, not something I significant that’s not noticeable.
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Spoke with 2 co-workers the other day about the Carbon Tax Refund. Both said it was bullshit and neither were receiving anything.
I said bullshit, check your ‘My CRA’ and it’ll be there.
Turns out one guy owes $6K so his carbon tax refund is paying that off and the other’s wife is collecting it as only 1 person per household can receive it.
Both clueless but both were very vocal about something they don’t understand. We’re truly fucked as a species.
And this is why I went down this hypothetical. Perhaps doing transit subsidies and buildouts, heavy EV subsidies would be something most would see and understand. And I’m talking about heavy subsidies, not something I significant that’s not noticeable.