Nobody likes paying taxes but most of us are willing to pay our fair share for the good of the country. Justin Trudeau’s recent threat to impose a national carbon tax if the provinces refuse to apply their own will do no good for our country, nor yet for the climate. It’s a money-grabbing power-trip, plain and simple.

Mr. Trudeau shocked the nation and provincial leaders—especially Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall—when he broke the news during a meeting of provincial environment ministers that the federal government is ready to impose a carbon tax on provinces that have not done so on their own. Premier Wall has called it the “biggest tax hike in Canadian history” and is looking at legal options to block it. Some are comparing the move to Pierre Trudeau’s so-called National Energy Program, which threw a monkey-wrench into Alberta’s oil and gas-based economy back in the 1980’s. The arrogant attitude displayed by the younger Trudeau towards the energy-rich provinces and their constitutional jurisdiction seems to resonate with that of his father in his day.

More to the point, what is the point? What is it that Justin hopes to accomplish by raising the cost of everything for all Canadians? For that will surely be the result. Every consumable product purchased in Canada is transported by the use of so-called “fossil fuels”. Much of the energy required in manufacturing, all air travel, much of our home heating, much of our agricultural production, depends on oil or natural gas, fuels that create carbon dioxide emissions. Is taxing the use of fuel and energy really the way to save the planet?

There are many reasons to oppose this national carbon tax but I will concentrate on just three:

1. CO² has become a handy target for every environmental concern but the theory that CO² is causing our climate to collapse is just that: a theory. It has not been proven and cannot be proven. Yes, extreme weather events and glacial melting in parts of the globe are happening but there are many scientists who disagree with the CO² / Climate Change model. Before we move heaven and earth to eliminate carbon use, let’s be sure we’re on the right track. There are other factors such as sunspots and blankets of cloud resulting from jet trails crisscrossing the globe.
2. Canada’s CO² emissions are already minuscule compared to those of other countries. Even if we get a “blue ribbon” for reducing carbon use, it will have very little impact in a world where other nations are just trying desperately to survive—and making good use of their carbon-rich resources to do it. Don’t get me wrong. We have a sacred and solemn responsibility to reduce real pollution of our air, soil and waters: man-made chemicals, particulate matter that chokes our sunlight and accumulates in our lungs, household chemicals, agricultural residues, sewage and dirty waste-water. When Canadians join the movement to cut CO², many of them are thinking about the black soot and other products of incomplete combustion that used to pour from smokestacks and chimneys and the raw chemicals and sewage that used to flow into our freshwater rivers and streams. They are right to be concerned about unfettered pollution. So am I. Where I disagree is in assigning evil, destructive attributes to pure CO², a natural gas needful for plant growth.
3. A carbon tax will do no good for the environment, not even for eliminating CO². Forcing Canadians to shell out money they can’t afford will simply mean that their monthly disposable income will shrink. The likelihood that governments will accomplish any significant reduction in measurable climate change is remote at best. When our Prime Minister and his Environment Minister agreed with their counterparts from around the globe at the Paris Climate Summit that they would not allow world temperature to rise more than 1%, it makes you wonder, “What planet are they living on?” Since when did the Creator of the sun, moon and stars make frail and feeble human beings responsible for the temperature of the world? It’s ludicrous that these folks think they can set the thermostat for Planet Earth. The universe is much more complex than they have recognized. Some forces beyond their control are sunspots, volcanoes and earthquakes.

If the PM really cares about this planet, he should start guiding Canada according to biblical principles. Today, the Government of Canada allows the deliberate killing of 100,000 babies a year, in violation of God’s command to “commit no murder”. This government has just made it legal to kill the elderly and the disabled. This government promotes hedonism and sexual perversion, even in our streets and in our schools. This also is pollution, moral pollution and does much more harm to the next generation than idling your SUV at Timmy’s. We cannot continually violate God’s commands and expect His blessing—on our crops, on our cities, on our families, on our economy, on our health, on our plans. God is not mocked. He created weather and climate and He is able to raise or lower the temperature of the earth. He cares about the planet he made; he also cares about the moral environment in which we raise our children. Ought we not to live in such a way that we can hope for His blessing on our weather and climate?

The cost:

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation “the tax will cost the average household $524 in 2018 and $2,569 in 2022.” So what are we going to get for that? Absolutely nothing! We will just be paying a ‘fine’ for our carbon use. With the flourish of a pen, we will have gone from paying nothing for carbon to paying a hefty penalty for using it.Even the concept and extent of global warming—about which we hear so much—is questionable. Some claim there has been no significant worldwide rise in temperature in the last 20 years. According to Dr. Patrick Moore, who has a PHD in ecology and was a founder of Green Peace, there is no scientific proof that CO² has caused global warming. There was a time when Greenland grew grapes; today it’s covered with ice. What happened? The climate changed! Long before SUVs and coal-fired power plants were even dreamed of.

While our Parliament plans to dip into taxpayers’ pockets and withdraw ever-increasing tax dollars as mentioned above ($2,569 more per family by 2022), Canadians, under the influence of the carbon agenda of politicians rather than scientists who deal in facts, cower in fear over that which has been happening since time began. Climate changes! From archeological digs we know that the climate has changed in the past and we can anticipate that it will do so again. So what are we to do?

It’s time to stop the manipulation by fear. Let’s look at the scientific facts—that which can be observed and measured. We need to treat the earth and its resources with respect and show gratitude to the One who gave us “all things richly to enjoy”.

The CHP rejects the notion of a carbon tax, of cap-and-trade, of carbon capture and sequestration and suggests instead that money should be invested in improving our technology so that coal, oil and gas can be burned more cleanly and with less waste. We are a country rich in resources—gifts given to us by our Creator. Let’s use them wisely and gratefully.

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