Vincent J. Curtis
8 Oct 2018
RE: Canada’s Fight against climate change. (Hamilton Spectator editorial of 6 Oct 2018)
In its own strange way, the Spectator hit a nail on the
head. It asks, what do the premiers want
about the national carbon tax? And the
correct answer is: the revenue and favorable political optics.
But let’s back up a bit to gain a little perspective. Global warming – or climate change as it is
now known – is nothing more than another progressivist hysteria. There hasn’t been any “global warming” in the
last twenty years, which is why the mantra is now “climate change.” None of that matters because such is the
power of the mob that one is morally condemned for pointing out that that
particular emperor is wearing no clothes.
The demand to “do something” is nearly irresistible, and
judging from the level of hysteria one would think that the fate of the world
hinges on what Canada does, or doesn’t do.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Canada’s contribution to world carbon dioxide emissions is insignificant,
and small reductions or increases of the insignificant is quantitatively even
less than insignificant.
On the scale of world carbon dioxide emissions, Canada (at
1.54 %) ranks between international shipping (1.74 %) and international
aviation (1.39 %). Thus, Canadians can
improve their country’s standing in terms of carbon emissions by vacationing more
abroad. That is certainly a more
pleasurable way of helping your country than by paying another tax.
As the Spectator correctly points out, the purpose of the
carbon tax has more to do with tax and with carbon. The alleged justification for the tax is that
a tax will marginally change behaviour.
Sometimes this is so, but in the case of carbon it isn’t. For example, a hundred thousand Hamiltonians
travel outside the city for work every day, often to Toronto. They have to do so by car. This behavior won’t change unless the tax is
so onerous that it no longer makes economic sense to drive to Toronto to
work. If this level of taxation wasn’t
enough to spark a revolution, it would certainly have extremely disruptive economic
consequences, for the individuals, for the city, and for the province and
country as a whole. The tax simply
cannot be imposed at a high enough rate to “change behaviour.”
And so we are left with revenue. Carbon emission is simply another excuse for
taxing Canadians for their alleged vices, for the fate of the world does not
hinge on what Canada does or doesn’t do.
If the Federal government, as was suggested, returns the revenue
collected from a national tax directly to taxpayers and doesn’t give it to
provincial governments, then the whole thing is reduced to a charade: the
government is churning the economy for billions and transferring a small net benefit
twice a year to those who drive less. A
national tax only makes sense if some level of government keeps it as revenue.
Even those who believe that climate change is caused by carbon
dioxide emissions have to admit that Canada’s contribution to the alleged
problem is negligible. So, what is the
point of harping on Canada’s “doing something” about climate change when practically
speaking we can do nothing about it? The
act of “doing something” creates a soapbox (albeit a short one) for those
inclined to thump their chests and proclaim their moral superiority – having “done
something” to save the planet from the evils of mankind. It also provides a calming sense of the possession
of control on those in the grip of the hysteria.
The premiers are playing the game smart. If they decline to play ball with Justin, he
will take the political hit for imposing a carbon tax and they will get the
cash. In the larger scheme of things,
none of this means a damn to the planet; it simply is a Canadian wrestling
match sparked by a progressivist hysteria.
If nothing gets done, it won’t matter. If something gets done, it will wind up being
another nail in the coffin of the Trudeau government. People are getting mighty tired of being led
around by progressivist foolishness.
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