Opinion: Politicians are failing on the carbon tax
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on January 16, 2020.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@collingallant The onset of cold weather and the federal carbon tax has Albertans up in arms once again. Convincing the general public that their money is needed to achieve government policy goals is a tough row to hoe at the best of times, but near impossible when already rocky soil is frozen solid. Adding to the task of winning over Canadians on carbon pricing, or even begrudgingly accepting it, are several structural realities in the carbon levy that are confusing, uneven and particularly open to criticism. If it hadn’t taken four years, a flurry of court challenges and two federal elections to get to this point, one might suggest a reset is needed. That’s not in the cards from the federal Liberal government, which was reprimanded at the polls with a minority mandate last fall, but can now argue that parties that support carbon pricing gained majority support. The government will stick with the system as is, hoping it takes root, or at least the most vociferous criticisms fade with time. But just as you can’t argue you’re way into someone’s heart, Ottawa may never, ever convince a substantial minority of Canadians that carbon pricing is needed. The pan-Canadian plan to bring in a price on carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is hard enough to get to know, let alone fall in love with. Talk of mega-tonnes and explorations of rebates and incentives are as esoteric as the discussion of the global climate itself. But we find ourselves not in a failure of economists or scientists – the vast majority of which agree climate change is real and a carbon levy an efficient way to address emission. We are in a failure of politics and politicians to develop and explain policy that is workable and valuable, and therefore marketable or at least acceptable. On a very basic, pragmatic level, how can anything succeed when it’s intrinsically tied to two things – gasoline prices and utility bills – that the public widely believes are rigged against them? In Alberta, it’s particularly clear that carbon pricing is a non-starter, and expectedly causes particular offence. While the economic theory of carbon pricing is simple – raise the price of a product and demand will lessen – the equation means less demand for our province’s chief export. Not helping matters is that fact that its implementation system across Canada is amazingly complex. One reason that it’s not better understood is that people don’t want to understand it. Any tax starts with a substantial strike against, being that people don’t like taxes. Particular to the carbon, the levy is structured differently than most more familiar taxes. It is charged per unit and not a percentage of value, like the GST. It also differs from province to province, as do rebates and incentive programs meant to offset the cost to consumers. Depending on where you live it can be charged, or not, in a separate manner on large industry. This leads, or doesn’t, to criticism that big corporations are being let off the hook, or not. In Alberta, the price was hidden in electricity rates 10 years ago when a heavy emitters levy was instituted. This month, just across the provincial boundary, SaskPower is adding a specific charge to customers’ bills. It’s different eight ways in eight other provinces, allowing critics 10 options from which to choose the worst-case scenario. Typically, provinces would relish the opportunity to develop localized programs – as Ottawa did – but it’s become another sticking point. It’s said in policy making circles that once a goal is agreed upon, a way to get there usually follows quickly. As far as the carbon price is concerned, Ottawa and Alberta still have to settle on a destination. (Collin Gallant is a News reporter. You can contact him by email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com) 27-26
