September 2023
In a column published recently in the Toronto Sun, columnist Lorne Gunter notes, in reference to comments by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, “Guilbeault criticized Atlantic Canadian regulators and refiners for passing on the cost of recent federal carbon and clean fuel tax increases – nearly 20% in the four eastern provinces – to consumers.” (GUNTER: Trudeau and Guilbeault the most divisive of all, 5 September 2023)
OK, there are a few of things to unpack here. Firstly, It’s not the function of business to absorb increasing costs to providing their goods or services. Sometimes a business will absorb as much of the costs as a courtesy to their customer base, but that’s not something that is mandatory, nor good for business in the long-term. A business must maximize their profits in order to do things like grow, innovate update equipment and to stay competitive within their industry, otherwise they risk bankruptcy.
Secondly, as Gunter points out, the whole point of carbon taxes are to make gas and oil so expensive, that people can’t afford them anymore, thus leading to the progressive’s “green” utopia. Why would Guilbeault have a problem with this scenario? Well, the answer is quite simple, thus leading to my third point.
Guilbeault has found out that when politics comes up against ideology, politics always wins. Sure, the current crop of progressives want us lowly peasants to stop using fossil-fuels (while they continue to use them freely, but I digress), but only if it doesn’t cost Liberal seats in the House of Commons, and maybe even government itself.
Now, you can write that off as what progressives need to do for the greater good in their quest to save the planet. After all, if progressives aren’t in power, the Conservatives certainly aren’t going to save the planet, are they? OK, but as yourself these questions: 1) Why are Trudeau and his trained seal cabinet ministers always jetting across the country for political announcements and around the world from one wind-bag summit to another, instead of using Skype more often, or having the local MP make the announcement? 2) If electric vehicles are truly the future, how many electric vehicles does the federal government have in their fleet?
Leading by example, thus putting ideology ahead of politics, wouldn’t allow them to travel around the world, frequently to exotic locations that most of the average citizens could only dream of going to, shows that political benefits will always win out.
Sources: GUNTER: Trudeau and Guilbeault the most divisive of all | Toronto Sun.
