A Carbon Tax is the Wrong Approach

As I read this I was wondering if the Ottawa Citizen had been bought out by friends of Harper or the Canadian Taxpayer''s Association but then I find that it was just Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, using the Citizen as a free propaganda vehicle. This is from the Ottawa Citizen.


Monday » June 2 » 2008

A carbon tax is the wrong approach

The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, June 02, 2008
We have all felt the pinch at the pumps recently, as the price of gas has risen in leaps and bounds.
The opposition has said the government should fix the price -- while at the same time calling for massive gas taxes. This is hypocritical.
Canadians are smart. They know that the world price of oil and gas is based on supply and demand. With countries like China and India growing very quickly, their demand grows, and so there is a higher price.
Stéphane Dion's carbon tax plan (which could be the largest tax increase in our nation's history) would push gas prices and heating oil prices to record levels, and this would have a domino effect and push up the cost of everything we buy, sell, or trade.
Food, services and even goods we export would rise in cost.
That is not good for our economy, and especially hard on middle- and low-income families. Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton would probably be fine, but average hard-working Canadians, particularly those people with fixed incomes, would suffer.
Since coming to office just over two years ago our Conservative government has taken actions that will provide nearly $200 billion in tax relief over 2007-08 and the following five years. This will reduce the federal tax burden to its lowest point in nearly 50 years.
That means Canadians are keeping more of what they earn. In fact, with the GST being reduced to five per cent, Canadians will save half a billion dollars more on gas alone this year. At the same time, we have invested more than $9 billion in green programs, while forcing big oil and big industry to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Canadians know how to choose between higher taxes and lower taxes.
With Stéphane Dion we would hurt Canada's economy, and hurt low and middle-income families who can't afford his massive carbon tax.
Gary Lunn, Ottawa
Minister of Natural Resources
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

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