Dear Editor,
I hope to share some great news with your readers. Many of them will hate it.
On May 16, Phys.org covered a historic metadata study about carbon pricing. What we call “Carbon Taxes” in Canada. Proving how well making polluters pay reduces CO2 emissions everywhere they’ve been implemented.
Carbon pollution makes Climate Change happen. Climate Change kills people. Innocent victims of carbon pollution die because of Climate Change. This is not in dispute by serious people.
Every study shows that putting a price on carbon pollution – a Carbon Tax – is the most effective way to reduce carbon pollution. Make it more expensive? Polluters do less of it. Simple. Right?
Carbon taxes are also the least damaging to the economies and people involved. Many Carbon Taxes – like the one in Canada – return MORE money to almost all of the people who pay them. 80% of Canadians will be WORSE off if Canada eliminates the Carbon Tax. They will have LESS money to spend if Canada eliminates the Carbon Tax. That’s not me talking. That’s 300 of the most knowledgeable Economists we have talking, as noted in an open letter on the Ecofiscal website.
For the first time, the meta study combined the data from 17 real-world climate policies – all of which proved their Carbon Taxes work – exactly as promised – in a statistical way known to be true. The researchers proved that Carbon Taxes reduced CO2 emissions everywhere – from 5 to 21%! In just the first few years of operation!
Imagine how well they’ll work once we get serious and raise them high enough to save the world.
Some people still want you to believe that putting a price on pollution – in this case CO2 – doesn’t work. They need you to believe that the studies are wrong. They are liars.
Now, the metadata study shows clearly just how badly they’re lying to us.
When I was a kid 5 to 10 tornadoes in Ontario made for a really bad year. Wildfires happened. Not many of them. Not huge ones. They made the news when they did.
In Ontario, Climate Change produces more extreme thunderstorms. Thunderstorms that can lead to tornadoes.
In 2022 Ontario had 51 tornadoes. Last year Ontario had 30 tornadoes over land and 9 waterspouts. I recall at least 7 or 8 tornado Watches or Warnings – in Grey Bruce alone – each of the last two years. My phone goes off. “Have a look outside. See a funnel cloud? Duck.”
Seems like a lot more than 5-10? Something’s changed.
Has anyone in Meaford heard disturbing news about wildfires in the last three years? Last three weeks? Smell any smoke yet?
Out West? Drought. No water. Wildfires everywhere. Not as many tornadoes though. Ontario and Quebec get more of those.
This raises a serious moral issue for people opposing Carbon Taxes.
On the one hand, eliminating the Carbon Tax could help them get elected. How many people do you know that say “Axe the Tax”? “Spike the Hike”?
But eliminating the one thing we know – without a doubt – that can prevent extreme weather events better than anything else we can do? Events that would kill Canadians? Who wants to campaign on “Vote for us. We don’t care if your grandchildren die.”?
That’s a really tough one to pull off. If people pay attention.
Pierre Poilievre, our local MP Alex Ruff, and every single member of the PC Caucus have a tough decision to make.
Do they even look at the latest study? Do they even think about it?
Then go, “We’ve been lying to Canadians about the Carbon Tax all along. Now they know we’ve really, really, really, been lying to them about Carbon Taxes. We can’t possibly do anything stupider than “Axe the Tax”. Do we really want to make it more likely that Canadian kids die? Just to get ourselves elected? Is that who we are?
Or will they just pull out the laminated card they got from the Oil and Gas Industry that they carry in their wallets? The one that says “Seven lies to tell constituents if they ask why we support making Climate Change worse?” at the top.
Prime Minister Trudeau is at an all time low in popularity. Jagmeet Singh leads the NDP. Not many people here plan to support him. Some Grey Bruce voters roll their eyes at the thought of voting for the Green Party. Could not even name their Leader(s).
But Justin Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh, Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault of the Green Party, all support taxing carbon pollution. Support making polluters pay. The Carbon Tax is the best way known to man or woman to reduce CO2 emissions. They’re all trying to make it LESS likely that you die in an extreme weather event.
Conservatives? Until such time as they admit they’re wrong? And admit they’ve been lying to us about the Carbon Tax?
Well. Pierre Poilievre, MP Alex Ruff, and every single Conservative MP and Conservative candidate running for Parliament? They’re running to INCREASE the likelihood that you, your kids, and your grandkids die because of Climate Change. Climate Change that they CHOSE to make worse. Maybe in a tornado. Maybe a wildfire. Maybe a heat dome like the one that killed 619 innocent people in Lytton, BC in 2021 will bake you to death. Maybe from flooding from an Atmospheric River incident.
It is such a bad idea to make Climate Change worse just to get elected.
Let’s all vote our consciences. Please consider if you like your family before voting.
Or…. Call your MP.
Ask Alex Ruff why he, his Leader, and his entire Party are lying to us about Carbon Taxes.
Because we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are lying to us.
Bruce Mason, Meaford
