Discussions

I understand that the point of the forthcoming Carbon Tax is an initiative for users to patronize public transit more often, but given the landscape of the prairies and past transit issues (Greyhound cutting prairie service, Brandon city transit drastically reducing service to Maple Leaf) is it really reasonable to expect public transit to ever meet the needs of prairie commuters?  
 
We live in a world where people are on the go 24/7, whether for work or leisure. Shift workers require access to transportation at all hours of the day or night. Many people enjoy traveling to the lake every weekend to enjoy time at their cottages/Camper Trailers. How would public transit serve the many destinations to sometimes remote getaways that these vacationers populate? Just saying that a successful public transit system is one thing in a large city like Winnipeg (and even it has its problems- witness the controversy over the LRT expressway being constructed) but it is very difficult to translate that business model to smaller cities (like Brandon, Portage, Dauphin) or even towns.

if our current provincial leader was interested in making a difference, there is a way.  
 
we could end up with more electricity than we can use.  
 
electrify the province with fast chargers.  
 
give rebates to the purchase of FULLY electric vehicles.  
 
it would take time, but would be a better argument against a carbon tax if you really try and get gasoline engines off the road

I really like the direction we're going in with the carbon tax. Polluting industries get taxed and (of course) pass on the extra cost to us consumers, who in turn get a rebate cheque which will be revenue neutral or even positive, according to the study I saw. So we get more money in our pockets, and industry has an incentive to reduce emissions.  
 
Problem is that we need the tax to be huge globally, in order to decarbonize the global economy and leave fossil fuels in the ground, or else it's just moving money around. Like Elizabeth May said, we need to come to the next round of climate talks as a global leader, and shame the rest of the world into doing the right thing.

I don’t understand how this carbon tax is anything more then a tax grab. Big industries get reduced rates on pollution. Consumers get all the costs put onto there shoulders with increases in everything we use day to day( groceries, heat, fuel)  
 
Climate change is a world issue. Why are we he only ones paying the price. (Couple other country’s have a price on pollution but all in all the world generally doesn’t have a carbon price system) Further more there is no evidence how any of this money is going to reduce climate change.  
 
Just the other day in the House of Commons they showed how this tax grab will turn a profit of 2.1 billion in Ontario just alone.  
 
I’m all for saving the environment. I recycle everything I can. But when people are already struggling to make it say to day like many are now. This tax is a recipie for disaster.

I can't help but think that there should be fairly strong taxation incentives for both residents and companies that make investments into renewable energy. I suspect that something may exist on the homeowner level (seeing more panels going up lately), but not so much in the commercial sector. I would love to see these things start to show up on grocery stores, malls, arenas, etc.  
How many panels and/or wind generators could one fit on Westoba place?  
 
It's wasted space already anyway.

It has been in place for 10 years and allows the free market to find the solutions to the pollution problem. For the fear-mongers out there, BC has out paced Canada in carbon reduction by 2 to 1 and their GDP has increased faster than the rest of Canada. Putting a price on carbon causes the free market to come up with solutions to reduce carbon that are profitable while giving consumers choices over the more expensive goods.  
It worked in the '70s by taxing polluting factories that were producing acid rain, it works now in BC with a 10 year track record...theres no reason to believe it cant work elsewhere in Canada.  
Will good cost more? Yes, that's the point. Make people think and come up with better solutions.  
 
Marpet

I agree with all who think that climate change needs a real and strong response, not pricey, feel good measures. Increasing fuel/heating costs do not correspond to a drop in consumption. It never has. Households just pay more and have less money for food, clothing and other needs. Token rebates for the poor won't make this progressive. A little homework on BC shows their plan is doomed for failure.The tax in BC is too low and therefore won't meet the expected target. Tax's their will need to rise, and thus costs, like gas and heat will rise with it. Fuel is around $1.60 a liter in Vancouver, where plenty of public transit exists. BC cut Corporate income tax and only the bottom layer of personal income tax, with only low income families, AND THE POWER COMPANIES getting a tax credit. Carbon tax is a grab bag of handouts for the powerful and politically connected, funded by a tax on the middle class. In other words, if I'm a big powerful company doing the polluting, why not have the consumers pay for my remodel costs.Polluters need to update and upgrade w/o subsidies from working class families. Our government should not buy off these companies, just do their jobs and REGULATE them!

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/business/does-a-carbon-tax-work-ask-british-columbia.amp.html  
 
"British Columbia’s economy did not collapse. In fact, the provincial economy grew faster than its neighbors’ even as its greenhouse gas emissions declined."  
 
“It performed better on all fronts than I think any of us expected,” said Mary Polak, the province’s environment minister. “To the extent that the people who modeled it predicted this, I’m not sure that those of us on the policy end of it really believed it.”  
 
10 years on...doesn't look like its doomed for failure.  
 
Marpet

I encourage all to do your own research, instead of relying on what a BC government environment minister, who is ultimately on the firing block, has to say about her own policy. There are many articles out there, some pro some con. Believe what you want, we all have an opinion. More tax's, in an already overly taxed province isn't problem solving. By the way Marpet, we are in Manitoba, so our needs aren't similar to BC to begin with!