It is better not to get too deeply immersed in the constitutional labyrinth embedded in the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to legally green light the Trudeau government’s carbon tax plan.
Beyond the 200-plus pages of convoluted and contradictory legal verbiage lie the real issues, which are economic, environmental and political, not legal. And those issues are festooned with flashing red warning lights: Danger ahead.
A carbon tax regime is no closer to reality, on a national or international level, than it was before the Supreme Court’s decision. In light of current global economic conditions, the prospects for a carbon tax look doubtful — a point highlighted by Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole when he said a Conservative government “will repeal Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax.
We will protect the environment and fight the reality of climate change, but we won’t do it by making the poorest pay more.”
O’Toole is on the right international track. More than the poor will suffer under a carbon emissions tax (CET) — a conclusion reached in the U.K., where Boris Johnson’s government this week confirmed it is “not taking forward the CET.”
For the rest of this column: https://financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-carbon-tax-green-light-flashing-red