Manitobans can’t afford the Liberal carbon tax

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This article was published 01/05/2019 (2446 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The carbon tax is in no way, shape or form an environmental plan. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not been able to show any evidence that his new tax will lead to a reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions. So, what is the carbon tax? It’s a plan to collect more money from those who are already feeling the pinch to pay for his inability to control government spending. Let me explain.

A recent poll by Meyers Norris Penny (MNP) found that almost half of all Manitobans are struggling to get by on the incomes they earn and can’t get ahead. The poll reported that 46 per cent of Manitobans are within just $200 of being able to make ends meet at the end of each month. Many poll respondents also indicated that they will have to go even further into debt to pay for increased living expenses.

When the report was released, MNP’s president said, “The reality is that too many households simply cannot make ends meet, however hard they try.” Then Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax took effect on April 1, making life even more expensive.

Simply put, the carbon tax is a hike in the cost of living at a time when Manitobans can least afford it

Immediately, fuel prices went up drastically, causing a ripple effect throughout the economy. Local farmers and grocers are now being forced to charge their customers more due to increased production and shipping costs. Retailers and small-business owners are being forced to increase their prices as well, to pay for their increased operating costs.

To people like Justin Trudeau who don’t spend any time thinking about paying their bills, an extra $100 a month on a grocery bill or electricity bill might not be a big deal, but it matters a lot to a family trying to make their money last until the end of the month.

Simply put, the carbon tax is a hike in the cost of living at a time when Manitobans can least afford it — and this is only the beginning. The Liberals are committed to increasing the carbon tax every April 1, making life more expensive each and every year.

After reviewing the carbon-tax scheme, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and other economists expect that the carbon tax will take between $10 billion and $35 billion out of the Canadian economy by 2022. In other words, the carbon tax will drive Canadian jobs out of the country.

It’s clear that this Liberal carbon tax is causing serious economic pain, without any environmental gain.

Around the world, carbon emissions are on the rise. While Canada’s contribution to global emissions is less than two per cent, four countries (China, United States, India and Russia) are responsible for more than half of all global emissions, and none of them have a carbon tax. So not only will the carbon tax punish the Canadian working class and fail to lower Canada’s emissions, it will do absolutely nothing to affect emissions emitted by the world’s worst polluters.

To add insult to injury, Justin Trudeau negotiated massive carbon-tax exemptions for Canada’s largest emitters. Giant multinational corporations with well-connected Liberal lobbyists will be able to pollute for free, while families and small business owners get hit with the full force of the tax. This is unfair and wrong. Any plan that actively exempts Canada’s largest emitters and ignores the effects of global emissions is not a serious climate change plan.

Let’s call a spade a spade. The carbon tax is nothing more than a tax plan and unfair cash grab to help Liberals finance their out-of-control spending habits. There must be a better way.

Andrew Scheer, leader of Canada’s Conservatives, has promised that his first act as prime minister will be to scrap the Liberal carbon tax and replace it with a real environmental plan that will reduce global emissions. And that’s just a start. Andrew Scheer will be unveiling a detailed and comprehensive plan in plenty of time for voters to consider it ahead of the fall election.

The Conservative plan for Canada will also involve cleaner water and air, including concrete action to stop the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers and lakes. In the meantime, consensus is building across the country that you can’t tax your way to a cleaner environment. Voters in Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and now Alberta have already elected governments that rejected the expensive and ineffective Liberal carbon tax scheme.

Canadians are using their votes to speak out against the carbon tax. Justin Trudeau would do well to listen.

Otherwise, he will learn the hard way in October.

Candice Bergen is the Conservative MP for Portage-Lisgar and Conservative House Leader.