It couldn’t have been easy for Liberal leadership frontrunner Mark Carney to dream up a more unaffordable carbon tax proposal than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax.
Yet somehow, Carney managed to do exactly that.
Yes, Carney says he would “immediately remove the consumer carbon tax.”
But in the fine print, Carney said he plans to replace it with a system that could increase the cost of virtually everything for Canadian taxpayers.
Instead of carbon tax rebates that give some of the carbon-taxed money back to some Canadians, Carney plans to hand out “incentives” to “reward” Canadians when they make environmentally friendly purchases approved by the government.
Earth to Carney: Canadians don’t want discounts on solar-powered blenders. Trudeau already tried half-measures like the temporary furnace oil carve-out and it backfired. Canadians want the carbon tax gone.
Carney’s proposal would force the costs of a carbon tax on Canadians, but take away rebate cheques that cover at least some of the cost.
How would Carney’s plan cost Canadians?
By “integrating a new consumer carbon credit market into the industrial pricing system.” Carney also said he would “improve and tighten” the industrial carbon tax. That would raise the carbon tax cost to businesses and those businesses would pass costs onto consumers.
When Carney imposes carbon taxes on refineries, he’ll make gas more expensive.
When Carney imposes carbon taxes on utility providers, he’ll make home heating more expensive.
When Carney imposes carbon taxes on fertilizer plants, he’ll increase costs for farmers and make food more expensive.
And when Carney imposes a carbon tax on imports into Canada through carbon tax tariffs, he’ll raise the cost of everything Canadians buy from abroad.
That’s a recipe for inflation, protectionism, tariff retaliation and scarcity.
Why could Carney’s proposal be even more expensive than Trudeau’s plan?
This year, Trudeau’s carbon tax will cost the average Ontario household $399, even after the rebates. That’s according to the parliamentary budget officer.
But take away rebate cheques and the cost of the carbon tax skyrockets to $1,383 for the average household.
Carney isn’t planning to cut the carbon tax, but rather move the cost from a direct cost to an indirect one.
Because businesses will just pass the cost of Carney’s new scheme onto households through higher costs, Canadians have a simple question for Carney: How much will your hidden carbon tax cost us?
Carney might say not to worry. Instead of rebates amounting to close to $1,000 a year for the typical household, he plans to give Canadians “incentives” to encourage us to buy fancy green appliances.
Great. Instead of cash to help cover some of the cost of the carbon tax, Carney wants to give you rewards to buy things you don’t want.
A Leger poll shows that among Canadians who have decided on the issue, 76% want the next Liberal leader to oppose the carbon tax.
Instead, Carney is proposing to impose a carbon tax on Canadians that is worse than Trudeau’s.
Clearly, Carney hasn’t been out there talking to average Canadians.
Canadians are struggling — 50% of Canadians say they’re $200 away from not being able to pay their bills.
Scrapping the carbon tax could make a huge difference for millions of Canadians who find themselves living on the edge of financial insolvency.
Canadians want the carbon tax gone. They don’t want it kind of gone. They don’t want it as a wolf dressed up in sheep’s clothing. They want it gone.
Carney needs to get out and talk to real Canadians. And he needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a plan to scrap the carbon tax entirely.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario director and Franco Terrazzano is the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation