UCP unlikely to accomplish the promise of cancelling the carbon tax
By Letter to the Editor on April 1, 2019.
Alberta has a carbon tax. The federal government imposes its own carbon tax on any province which does not have a provincial carbon tax. Yet Mr. Kenney and the UCP simplistically promise that they will repeal Alberta’s carbon tax and that they will fight the federal carbon tax in court. What will they accomplish? In order to meaningfully deliver on their promise to get rid of the carbon tax, Mr. Kenney and the UCP are relying on the future happening of two very important things, both of which are completely beyond their control. The first is the eventual outcome of the current litigation by Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick, whose claim against the federal carbon tax is at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. Whomever loses there will certainly, in my opinion, go on to the Supreme Court of Canada. This will take about 18 months and if the federal carbon tax is upheld by the Supreme Court, Alberta will be bound by the Supreme Court decision and will not be legally able to litigate the matter against the federal government. My knowledge of constitutional law is not top notch, but my belief is that the Supreme Court will uphold the federal carbon tax. Time, and the Supreme Court, will give us the answer. Why are Mr. Kenney and the UCP promising to spend our good money chasing something certainly beyond their control and potentially impossible? The second thing is that Mr. Kenney and the UCP cannot control is the outcome of the October, 2019 federal election. Only a Conservative majority government, federally, will end the federal carbon tax and, politically, there is a long time between now and October, 2019. Mr. Kenney and the UCP are therefore only offering you their hopes. Do you not deserve better by way of planning? “We hope.” Is that the best they can do? I suggest that Alberta voters not rely on the simplistic promise of Mr. Kenney and the UCP that they will cancel Alberta’s carbon tax, but instead, each voter should ask himself or herself how likely it will be that the UCP will effectively accomplish what they promise. Gregory R. Côté Irvine, Alta. 8-7
It’s Kenney’s favorite strategy of duping people. He can promise to end the carbon tax, knowing full well it’s beyond his ability to do since the federal tax will just kick in if he does. He accomplishes absolutely nothing in this, but gets cheers from people who don’t like to think things through. Then he can whine and play the victim card when the tax goes nowhere, and blame all our woes on the Liberals, when in fact we’re doing just fine with the tax in the first place.
Oilmen in the Edmonton area have been saying for years that we must do something about our air pollution or our children will pay for our stupidity, and fully support the Carbon Tax which they know is a good first start.
My friends and I can’t believe all the whining and crying by some of our fellow seniors over this tax, because Kenney wants them to. Apparently they’re too dumb to look at the fees Ralph Klein added to their power and gas bills with deregulation. I know I’ve paid at least $18,000. over the years for those fees. At lest the Carbon Tax is creating jobs and putting a few dollars in the pockets of our fellow Albertans who need it. Too bad Kenney and his ignorant supporters don’t care about them.