How much credibility should we give to economic forecasts by the Trudeau Liberals? Next to zero.
The dreams of the Trudeau Liberals amount to pies in the sky. The Liberals are big on lofty goals, short on pragmatic process and down-to-earth deadlines, the most recent example being their draft regulations for a net-zero energy grid by 2035, announced at a news conference Thursday in Toronto by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Guilbeault used many fine phrases to sell his scheme — “generational economic opportunity,” “good middle-class jobs,” “a future where energy is clean, affordable and reliable.” He made his happy assurances with all the confidence of someone who has jetted off to 100 climate change conferences and believed every word he’s ever heard there.
He also shared a few bold predictions. Investors, he said, would have to spend $400 billion to realize the Liberal plan, but there would be a net benefit to Canadians of $29 billion by 2050. He also put out on social media a claim by the Canadian Climate Institute that this plan will save Canadians on average 12 per cent on energy costs by 2050.
Those are swell numbers. But how much credibility should we give to economic forecasts by the Trudeau Liberals? Next to zero. The most infamous of such projections was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “very cast in stone” promise in 2015 to balance the federal budget by 2019.
For the rest of this column: https://edmontonjournal.com/news/david-staples-trudeau-liberals-offer-pie-in-the-sky-energy-plan-smith-fires-it-back-in-their-face