ReACTion - Residents Against Carbon Taxation

The real cost of the carbon tax

2008-10-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

Councillors Warn Liberals Green Shift Will Cost $3.5 million

Josh Pringle
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Two Ottawa City Councillors suggest the Liberals Green Shift plan would cost Ottawa taxpayers at least an additional $3.5 million.
In a letter to Liberal leader Stephane Dion, Doug Thompson and Glenn Brooks say preliminary research into the impact of a carbon tax on Ottawa's operating budget has "alarming results."
They claim the Liberals carbon tax would increase OC Transpo's diesel fuel bill by $2.74 million, and Ottawa's fleet vehicle budget by $791-thousand.
Thompson and Brooks ask Dion if he is prepared to amend the tax to mitigate the new costs that the Green Shift plan will impose on Ottawa's "already tight budget."

If this is the expected increase for one city alone, then the cost Canada-wide would be horrendous.

Lets do a little rough math.

The population of the City of Ottawa in 2006 was 865,553.

That works out to a per capita ammount of $4.04 in increased costs for City transportation and fleet vehicles. Seems like a modest amount, doesnt it?

Bear in mind that this doesn't factor in anything else, like heating of buildings, sewers, construction, etc. JUST fuel for city vehicles.

As a simple calculation, what does that work out to if all of Canada's urban population is factored in?

In 2006 the urban population of Canada was stated as being 81 percent of total, which factors out to 26,390,025 people. So how much would that end up costing municipalities?

$108 million...in extra fuel costs for fleet vehicles and public transportation expenses alone!!

This is only one small portion of the harm that the "Green Shift" plan will cause. Once farming, trucking, manufacturing, private construction, home heating, and fuel costs at the pump (to name a few) are factored in, the resulting damage to our economy will dwarf that number. How will Dion's $15 billion in revenue from the carbon tax help all the segments of the economy that are devastated?

Your guess is as good as mine...

Full article here.

revenue neutral? Not a chance...

2008-09-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

John Williamson was on CTV today explaining how the Liberal Green Shift plan is in no way revenue neutral. While I couldn't find a clip of the interview, I did manage to find an article he wrote last March on the same subject. (while some people may view this as 'old news' I feel it's worth another look)

For those who don't know, John Williamson is federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which is described as Canada's leading taxpayer advocacy group.
From their own website:

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is a federally incorporated, non-profit and non-partisan, advocacy organization dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government ... All CTF staff and board directors are prohibited from holding a membership in any political party. The CTF is independent of any institutional affiliations.

This is not the political posturing of a partisan organization. This is not election spin or rhetoric.
In fact if you look on their website they seem to target all major political parties regardless of their leaning.

With that out of the way, the key points of the article:

The (British Columbia) government says (its carbon tax) will be "revenue neutral" because it is lowering income taxes at the same time. But it certainly isn't neutral for families. A two-income family earning $90,000 with two kids will save $85 this year in lower personal income taxes. Yet, according to the B.C. budget, that same family will pay an additional $100 in gas taxes and another $35 in home heating costs. B.C.'s tax shifting translates into a middle-class tax increase.

...

Mr. Dion similarly favours a so-called revenue neutral tax. But as in B.C., it won't be neutral for taxpayers: Higher energy prices will hit families with kids the hardest. And what will it accomplish? Premier Gordon Campbell's goal is to reduce the province's CO2 emissions by 40 million tonnes by 2020. Yet, the current carbon tax policy is expected to reduce greenhouse gases by only three million tonnes, about 7.5% of the total. If the price of a 7.5% CO2 reduction is more than $15-billion, taxpayers can only imagine what it will cost to cut the other 92.5%.

full article here

Dion's Carbon Tax Shell Game

2008-09-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

The "Green Shift" Plan put forth by Dion and the Liberals is looking more and more like one of those shady carnival games (AKA Scams) where the operator puts a ball under a trio of sea-shells and challenges us to guess where it is. "Everyone's a winner!" shouts the carny.

Dion claims the tax will be revenue neutral, meaning that all the money he collects will returned as income tax breaks and incentives. Everyone's a winner. However, Paul Zed, Liberal MP, just implied that some might be more of a winner than others by saying that the tax will not apply to oil refineries in his home province of New Brunswick.

According to Zed, the refinery's emissions won't be taxed.

"The Conservatives are alleging that the Green Shift taxes (emissions). That's not true. That's the lie and the falsehood," Zed said.
"There is no tax on emissions. The Green Shift plan is not a detriment to the refinery. I wouldn't be supporting this if, for a moment, I thought the refinery was in jeopardy."

But in the Liberals own GreenShift Plan:

"Liberals will tax pollution in Canada for the first time by putting a price on Greenhouse Gas emissions that cause climate change."
According to the plan, "large final emitters (the worst polluters in Canada - mostly heavy industry and power plants) will account for a significant majority of the revenue within the Green Shift."

Oil refineries are very energy intensive. They use large quantities of fuel such as natural gas to heat the crude oil and perform various reactions on it to seperate it into the gasoline, diesel and heating fuels we use.

If the tax revenue isn't coming from major polluters (AKA large final emitters) like oil refineries, then who will end up paying for this plan?

Who knows?

Paul Zed's statement already shows that certain "chosen" industries will have preferential treatment under the Liberal carbon tax. Even if the "Green Shift" plan ends up being totally revenue neutral, some polluting industries will be given breaks, while others will be heavily taxed.

Should we trust a party which contradicts its own platform? If the Liberal tax plan changes daily depending on who in the party talks about it, how can you trust that in the end it will resemble what was voted for? Will you be a winner or loser under "the Green Shift"?

Your guess is as good as mine....

So which shell will it be? One, Two or Three? Everyone's a winner!!

Hign fuel prices didn't reduce consumption before...

2008-09-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

...and the Green Shift wont do anything for consumption now...

Dion argues the only way to get people to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels is to put a price on it through a carbon tax. He says if Canadians are forced to pay more, they will use less.
Trouble is, Canadians have already been paying more for gasoline at the pumps since 2002 -- a lot more.
But instead of using less fuel during that time, Canadians have been using more, according to recent data released by Statistics Canada.
"Despite the steady escalation of gasoline prices since 2002, Canadian drivers have so far not cut back their consumption," a Stats Can study released last month concluded. "Overall, the retail sales volume of gasoline rose 7.2% from 2002 through 2007."

read entire article here

Canadian Trucking Alliance: Revisions to Liberal carbon tax scheme fall short

2008-09-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Trucking Association has once again spoken out against the Green Shift plan.

David Bradley, CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and an outspoken critic of Green Shift, says the changes will do little to help the trucking industry. "The trucking industry is already making the shift to smog-free engines, ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel and proven and available GHG busting technologies and devices," he said. "What we need is a rebate program to accelerate the investment, especially during these tough economic times."

"We still end up paying significantly more tax at a time when the industry is suffering from higher fuel costs, the appreciation of the Canadian dollar, border delays and a freight recession in both the United States and parts of Canada," said Bradley. "The goal of any environmental program should be to eliminate smog and reduce GHG's as quickly as possible. The technology exists in trucking to do that and our enviroTruck program lays out a clear and efficient plan for achieving this."

read the entire article here

Effects of Carbon Tax in other countries

2008-09-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

If you want to see what a possible Liberal Carbon tax would do to Canada, you can start by looking at other countries that have already enacted carbon taxes, such as the UK and Australia.

FAMILIES are being ripped off by an average of £783 a year through Gordon Brown’s bogus “green" taxes, it emerged yesterday.
Hard-pressed households are being forced to pay far more than necessary in motoring taxes and council tax bills as well as a raft of other measures allegedly imposed to cover the cost of pollution.
In total, taxpayers had to hand over £19.6billion too much in so-called green taxes last year – and lower-income households are being hit hardest, said a report.
Last night the Prime Minister and Chancellor Alistair Darling were accused of exploiting environmental concerns to justify a punishing new round of stealth taxes
which critics branded “unfair and dishonest.”

Entire Article Here

if anyone has printed and posted the flyers

2008-08-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

please send me a link to a picture of the location with the flyer in it. You can email me at
carbonreaction@gmail.com
and attach the pic...

the anti-carbon-tax flyers are available here

the first person to send a link gets..well..nothing, but at least you'll be helping to bring the fight from the blogs to the real world...
plus if enough people get the message, you might actually get to not have your bank account ravaged by the Liberals yet again....pretty nice prize, I'd say...

Nova Scotia Premier slams Liberal carbon tax plan

2008-08-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Finally, a provincial premiere speaks out against the so called "Green Shift" tax grab...

The Canadian Press

August 21, 2008 at 4:42 PM EDT

HALIFAX — Premier Rodney MacDonald ramped up his fight against the carbon tax plan proposed by the federal Liberals on Thursday, saying Nova Scotia would be hurt by it because the province relies heavily on fossil fuels.

Carbon tax advocates say that by increasing the price of fossil fuels, people would be encouraged to use less.

However, Mr. MacDonald said fossil fuels produce 90 per cent of the electricity in the province and account for 60 per cent of its home heating.

He said the higher cost would only drive up the cost of everything else that depends on fuel for production or delivery.

"We, along with Alberta, are going to be most impacted," said Mr. MacDonald. "This so-called solution for the environment is no solution at all for Nova Scotia."

The Premier said the province intends to meet its stated target of a greenhouse gas reduction of 10 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

"But we don't believe taxing people is the way to do it," he said.
full article here

Frustrated Seniors Speak Out

2008-08-16T19:08:00.001-07:00

Another group of Canadians who will be hurt by a carbon tax...
"As the baby boomers retire, seniors in this country are about to hold the balance of power, a scary thought if you are a Liberal. This week an item popped into my email box with a message to “Pass this on to everyone in Canada.” A near impossible task but, with an Internet platform I can post it for all to see.
The document is comprised of three letters, written by Canadians in various parts of this vast land. It is fair to say that the opinion reflects the mood of most seniors I know. Only those with blind loyalty to a party, including those who inherited their political stripes through genetics, might differ."
Read full article here

Frustrated Seniors Speak Out

2008-08-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

Atlantic truckers oppose Green Shift

2008-08-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Carbon tax will 'create welfare instead of wealth': executive director

The Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association made it quite clear yesterday that it is against federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion's proposed carbon tax.

Peter Nelson, executive director for APTA, urged the Atlantic Federal Liberal Caucus to reject the Green Shift proposal, in a statement issued yesterday.

"Dion's carbon tax proposal will further cripple an economy that is already struggling on the global markets. Atlantic Canada's economy depends upon the success of our transportation, agriculture, forestry, mining, energy and fisheries industries," he said. "I hope the Members of Parliament from our region will stand up for Atlantic Canadians."

whole article here

Liberals double-tax double-talk

2008-08-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, Steve Janke has a well-thought out post on his blog about how the Liberals may double-tax provinces who chose to enact their own carbon-tax, and why the provinces may not be able to do anything about it.. Also, although Dion insists there will be no side deals, some premeires have already stated that they've already discussed special treatment...Read it here

Liberal Green Shift Plan Gets Negative Reaction from Trucking Industry

2008-08-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

"The Canadian Trucking Alliance was quick to respond after federal opposition leader Stephane Dion introduced his party’s carbon tax plan on June 19^th. “While the devil is always in the details,” says CTA’s CEO, David Bradley, ”the last thing the trucking industry needs is more tax on diesel fuel; with diesel fuel prices at record highs and fuel overtaking labour as the number one component of operating cost the trucking industry does not need further price signals from government to know that improving fuel efficiency and thereby reducing GHG emissions is a good thing.” "

"Bradley says truckers have a different view of what tax revenue-neutrality means compared to what is espoused in Green Shift. “There is no tax neutrality for truckers in this plan,” he contends. The plan itself estimates that the end of the fourth year “the average freight trucker’s total annual operating expenses (will be increased by) approximately $1,700 per year.” "

Full Article

The real reason for Dion's carbon tax?

2008-08-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

"If Liberal Leader Stephane Dion occupies 24 Sussex Drive after the next federal election and implements his carbon tax -- the plundering of Alberta and Saskatchewan to benefit Ontario and Quebec -- he may well have set the stage for the dissolution of Canada. "

article here

B.C.’s Carbon Tax: A Regressive Hoax

2008-08-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to an interesting article about British Columbia's carbon tax...

Some points of note:

"...the average retail price of gas in Canada, adjusted for inflation, has risen forty per cent in the past five years. The increase is the equivalent of $120 per tonne of emissions — four times as much as the maximum tax proposed in B.C.

But consumption did not decline. In fact, during the same period both gasoline sales and greenhouse-gas emissions rose to record levels.

In effect, we’ve already tried a much tougher carbon tax than B.C. is proposing — and it didn’t work. Corporations passed the cost onto customers, and wealthy consumers absorbed higher prices easily. Working people and the poor tightened their belts, spending less on other things."

"In short, the B.C. carbon tax is regressive, shifting ever more of the province’s tax burden onto working people, while reducing taxes on corporations. It will do nothing to cut emissions or slow global warming."

Anti-Carbon-Tax Flyers

2008-08-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a bunch of printable flyers. You can download all the flyers as a single .zip file or pick and choose individually...

If you can, please print the flyers or signs and post them in high traffic areas such as gas stations, banks, stores, and so on. Also there are buttons and animated gifs to put on your website or blog if you support the cause. If we only have a few people that print these out in each neighborhood or town, it will make a big difference in getting the message across that ordinary citizens will not stand for a carbon tax in Canada.

Let me know in the comments section if and where you posted these flyers, and if you can put alink to a picture of the location.

working on flyer

2008-06-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

I am starting to make a flyer to download and print off, that would be simple and to the point about the dangers of a carbon tax in Canada. I'm hoping that my eventual readers will be able to print off and post them in their own neighborhoods, stores, banks etc..I'll post it on here when I get it done.

If anyone can think of any facts or whatever to include, post it in the comment section..thanks

Troy S.

carbonreaction@gmail.com

Welcome..

2008-06-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I've created this blog as a forum for concerned Canadian residents who are worried about the impact that a broad-based carbon tax will have on them personally, as a community, and as a country as a whole.
I'm considering flyers, email and letter campaigns, or even demonstrations as an approach to get the message out to the media, government, and the general public that we will not stand for an intrusive and damaging tax-and-spend regime.

Please comment here if you agree with this approach and feel free to toss around any ideas about how we could proceed.

Troy S.

carbonreaction@gmail.com