five years ago, paul wells penned an interesting piece in maclean’s magazine touting four leading conservatives who were going to help federal conservative leader andrew scheer form “the resistance”, as the cover title put it. what they were resisting was prime minister justin trudeau’s proposed carbon tax.
the magazine cover showed a sombre photo of scheer together with ontario premier doug ford, saskatchewan premier scott moe, then manitoba premier brian pallister and then alberta conservative (ucp) leader jason kenney.
so why then, in the wake of their smashing political success in getting trudeau to abandon a key part of his carbon tax, did a very similar conservative crew band together this weekend to start agitating for more “carve-outs” that they know trudeau will never provide?
the answer, it seems to me, is hubris. in the wake of their atlantic canada victory, where trudeau was forced to remove the tax from home heating oil, they might just be overplaying their hand. ironically, like the first version of “the resistance” this crew of five premiers just might wind up helping trudeau.
advertisement
for quebecers wondering why we’re missing out on all the fun, it should be borne in mind that we benefit from a mega “carve-out.” thanks to its cap-and-trade agreement with california, known as the western climate initiative , quebec has thus far been spared the federal carbon tax.
environment minister steven guilbeault has suggested he will quit if trudeau caves again. guilbeault has lost a great deal of credibility since joining team trudeau. he was forced to sit at the cabinet table as a massive offshore oil project, bay du nord, was approved.
guilbeault has tried to rationalize everything from the purchase of the $30-billion trans mountain pipeline to the abject failure of the liberals to meet canada’s international obligations on climate. but there’s a limit even staunch loyalty can’t overcome. guilbeault has reached his, and trudeau knows it.
advertisement
trudeau’s climb-down on the carbon tax has been an epic failure, a lose, lose, lose proposition. he has lost credibility with the majority of canadians who care about sustainable development and the kind of planet we’re leaving to future generations. he has lost potential future support of atlantic voters because he hit “pause” only for three years, which means voters there will be wary of bringing the liberals back, and the tax along with him.
advertisement