Carbon Tax: Our national nightmare

Heading into the summer, Canada's politicians tend to recede from the headlines and head out on BBQ tours in their respective ridings. While there should have been an election by now, the Liberals were content to stall until they could unveil their campaign's main plan: a carbon tax. Folks, this plan leads down a very expensive and treacherous path with no clear goal in sight. Stephane Dion will be hanging his hat on a carbon tax during the next election, despite backing away from a carbon tax during the last Liberal leadership race. Quite simply, a carbon tax spells certain defeat for the Liberals, propelling the Conservative Party to a deserved majority.

A carbon tax is punitive, not revenue neutral, and will cost every Canadian hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, regardless of income or status. The Conservative government has been using every opportunity to give hardworking Canadians a break and put more money in citizen's pockets at a time when the economy is shaky at best. What the Liberal carbon tax does is effectively take that money back and throw it into government coffers and Liberal-friendly groups. Canadians deserve better but the Liberals think otherwise.

Carbon taxes would not help the environment, as the Liberals claim. Despite astronomically higher prices for fossil fuels such as gasoline and heating oil, Canadians aren't likely to consume less. Consider that even now, when gas prices are averaging above $1.20 per litre, people are still buying as much gas as they did before. Canada is a cold-weather country and most people require diesel and heating oil to power furnaces in their homes. The carbon tax would punish people, particularly in low-income and older homes, where these systems are prevalent.

For those who decide to change their driving habits and way of life because of the carbon tax, public transit would be the most practical means of getting around. The Liberals must, then, deal with this problem: how to exempt public transit from the carbon tax. Fuel costs will obviously rise for transit providers who, as usual, will pass those cost increases onto consumers. When the cost of transit rises, ridership almost always decreases, further harming the environment and adding to gridlock on the roads. The environment, then, would not see any real positive change because of the Liberal carbon tax.

As has been reported in various news outlets, the Liberals have made numerous campaign pledges that already total more than $60 billion of new government spending. The carbon tax is a convenient way to start paying for those promises, but it makes a small dent overall. Any claim that the carbon tax will be "revenue-neutral" is dishonest as there is no such thing as a neutral tax. What the tax is is a simple revenue grab that will ultimately end up paying off the national debt, not funding social programs as claimed.

If you ask Canadians what they prefer more out of these two choices: more money in their pockets in the form of tax cuts or a high tax and spend government, the answer will always be for more money in their pockets. The Liberal carbon tax will punish Canadians for buying everyday consumer goods at a time when they should be getting money back from their government. Perhaps Stephane "Do you think it is easy to make priorities" Dion has learned how to actually make priorities. It's unfortunate he is so out of touch with Canadians that he is planning a carbon tax program. Any Liberal plan that includes a punitive carbon tax should be met with many questions and skepticism of its real goals. The Conservative government listens to Canadians and acts in the best interests of hardworking, everyday people who play by the rules. Giving people their hard-earned money back in the form of tax cuts is a real solution for all Canadians.