By Letter to the Editor on September 10, 2018.
Re: “If Tories want to lead on climate change they must embrace a price on carbon,” Aug. 27 I’m betting these Reformers, pretending to be conservatives, have no intention of doing anything about climate change, as Peter Lougheed found out. For years Lougheed urged the Klein and Stelmach governments to slow down the growth of the oilsands and get control of the pollution, but they refused to listen. Oilmen have been stating for years that if we don’t get control our children will face massive lawsuits. Why wouldn’t they when you know it’s affecting our soil and water as this study proves: “Alberta lakes show chemical effects of oilsands, study finds.” With 70 per cent of the pollution drifting into Saskatchewan from Fort MacMurray the NDP had been urging the Brad Wall government to start the suing process. He refused. Their new government may be willing to do so. The fact is Reformers Brian Jean, Jason Kenney and Andrew Scheer are only interested in using the bashing of the carbon tax as a means to buy votes from our ignorant fellow seniors who believe their lie that it’s going to financially destroy all of us. Yet it’s been in place in Sweden since 1991 and in B.C. since 2008 and is working well as these reports point out. “When it comes to emissions, Sweden can have its cake and eat it too” and the one put out by the Simon Fraser University: “The shocking truth about B.C.’s carbon tax, it works.” I suggest you read them. Watching our fellow seniors whine about the carbon tax, as they are taught to do, while they pocket carbon tax rebates and ignore what their hero Ralph Klein did to them with the fees added to their gas and power bills by deregulation doesn’t make them look very smart. On our recent bills the carbon tax was $10.08, while the Klein generated fees were $131.58 and we received $112. in carbon tax rebates, so how is that going to financially destroy us? Alan K. Spiller Edmonton 9