A majority of Ontarians rank the cost of living as a more pressing concern higher than protecting the environment, according to a new poll. It also suggests that a plurality of residents are willing to dump the Trudeau government’s carbon emission pricing regime even if it means giving up the carbon rebate.
The poll comes amid renewed calls for an emergency televised meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country’s premiers over an annual increase to the federal carbon price.
German farmers and meat producers could soon feel the brunt of yet another government decision that punishes meat-eating in the name of green policies and climate change.
According to local media, a panel of advisers on agriculture, the Zukunftskommission Landwirtschaft (ZKL) is proposing to raise the value added tax (VAT) on meat products from 7% to 19%, which would significantly burden consumers and thereby meat producers.
OTTAWA—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling the federal carbon tax a “sin tax on productivity,” saying it is contributing to Canada’s declining economic prospects.
“I have a friend who described to me the carbon tax; her view of it is it’s essentially a sin tax on productivity. Isn’t that what it is, when you think about it?” Ms. Smith said at the annual Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa on April 12.
If you believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the carbon tax imposed on Ontario is Premier Doug Ford’s fault. Not only that, the PM would like voters to think he’s the champion of building housing faster and Ford’s the guy holding things up. It’s as if Trudeau has stepped into an alternative universe where Ford is responsible for the housing mess, not the guy with the aggressive population expansion policy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he sympathizes with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh but no longer understands his party’s position on climate change after Singh appeared to waver on his support for the consumer carbon tax.
“I feel for the NDP and for Jagmeet. This is a hard moment. There are political headwinds,” Trudeau told reporters Friday at a press conference in Vaughan, Ont.
“There’s a lot of political pressure. I’m certainly feeling it, everyone should be feeling it, by folks out there who are worried about affordability, who are worried about climate change.”
Possibly Jaggy was read the riot act by his caucus or it’s just fake to buy Jaggy some goodwill.
Germany’s transport minister has warned that driving will have to be banned at the weekends unless the country’s net zero laws are changed.
Volker Wissing’s FDP party wants the law amended so the polluting transport sector can miss carbon emissions reduction targets, as long as Germany as a whole reaches them.
But the change is opposed by the Greens, who are part of the three-way coalition with the pro-business FDP and the Social Democrats (SPD), led by Olaf Scholz, the chancellor.
A decade ago, when I first started contributing to the New York Times’s annual “52 Places to Go” list, the top user comments were about the destinations: Why was Calcutta chosen but not Chattanooga? This year, in a sign of the times, the most popular comments suggest that we should all just stay home to save the planet. The climate-obsessed among us are falling out of love with travel, particularly with the idea of exploring far-off places where your carbon footprint is greater. If their movement gains steam they won’t save the world, but they might well wreck the global economy and deprive themselves and others of much-needed perspectives and experiences that make the world a better place.
No meat, travel, or new clothes, she’s painting the picture of a literal utopia! pic.twitter.com/ntEb5gnGbo
— Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) April 11, 2024
As automakers continue to delay their electric-vehicle plans and report lower-than-expected sales, Canada’s goal of ensuring that at least 20 per cent of new vehicles sold by 2026 are electric seems to be in jeopardy.
Ford Motor Co. last week said it was going to delay EV production at its assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., by two years to 2027 from 2025. The additional time will allow the company to take advantage of an emerging battery technology and let the number of consumers grow.
Let’s see …
1) EV’s are expensive.
2) EV’s suck in the winter as battery performance is severely degraded.
3) EV’s need an expensive home charger which I can’t afford but that’s OK because the grid can’t handle the required load anyway.
4) EV’s can see a relatively minor fender bender result in a total vehicle write off if the battery is compromised.
5) EV’s are damn hard to put out if they burst into flames.
6) EV’s have high insurance and repair costs.
7) EV’s need expensive replacement batteries that destroy resale value.
8) EV’s wear out tires and roadways faster due to their excessive weight.
9) EV’s are not “green”.
10) EV’s don’t currently have nearly the required number of public chargers needed.
Sure sign me up!
At the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference this week in Ottawa, grassroots conservatives must insist that party leaders stop supporting the climate scare. It is not enough to “axe the tax” or “spike the hike,” as Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Leader Pierre Poilievre, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and other provincial leaders demand. The “carbon tax” is merely a symptom of the climate change disease threatening Canada’s prosperity and energy security.
A group of older Swiss women have won the first ever climate case victory in the European Court of Human Rights.
The women, mostly in their 70s, said that their age and gender made them particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves linked to climate change.
The court said Switzerland’s efforts to meet its emission reduction targets had been woefully inadequate.
It is the first time the powerful court has ruled on global warming.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg joined activists celebrating at the court in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to have a “publicly televised” meeting with the premiers to talk about the carbon price increase.
“I think he’s too scared,” Poilievre said Monday morning when asked if he thinks Trudeau would meet with the premiers on TV.
A non-financial consideration in Canada’s transition to renewable energy is the large amount of land needed compared to other energy sources, like natural gas, a new Fraser Institute report says.
The report notes that while the cost of renewable sources has decreased, the challenge of land consumption—or how much space is needed for wind and solar power generation—remains an obstacle.
Over 340 economists have penned an open letter in support of Canada’s prevailing carbon tax policy.
Despite the misleading information noted in the letter regarding the carbon tax’s impact on our climate and its effect on our cost of living – specifically referencing the Bank of Canada’s erroneous calculations – the group certainly has the right to express its viewpoint.
Queen’s Park and Ottawa, which have jointly pledged billions in electric vehicle manufacturing subsidies, were jolted by Ford Canada’s move to delay domestic EV production.
Ford Canada announced Thursday it would postpone all electric vehicle production at its Oakville assembly plant by two years until 2027 due to softening demand.
That move came in the wake of the provincial and federal governments ponying up $295 million each in 2020 to boost EV production there. Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the federal industry department officials were given any advance warning of the car company’s decision, with officials learning of it in the news.
Two more premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to host a First Ministers’ meeting on the carbon tax.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Ontario Premier Doug Ford both released letters April 5 to request a meeting. The premiers of Alberta, Newfoundland, and New Brunswick have already done so.
