Wait! Is Winter Cold?

Justin only noticed that now:

Last Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a three-year pause on the carbon tax for home heating oil. Technically, the pause applies to all Canadians subject to the federal scheme, but in practice, it’s really just Atlantic Canada that stands to benefit, since it’s the only region where this particular fuel is used to a significant degree.

Forty per cent of homes in Prince Edward Island use heating oil for warmth, according to Statistics Canada; in Nova Scotia, the figure is 32 per cent, while in Newfoundland and Labrador it’s 18 per cent.

Atlantic Canadians will surely welcome Trudeau’s reprieve — and rightfully so. They were shown to be among the worst hit by the country’s skyrocketing cost of living in a Leger poll released in September, with more than half saying they’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s a struggle to keep up with the cost of necessities: P.E.I. leads the country in food insecurity, while Nova Scotia and Newfoundland lead in rent price growth.

The rest of the country isn’t so lucky. Heating oil is only used by a smidgen of homes in New Brunswick (seven per cent), Quebec (four per cent), Ontario (two per cent) and British Columbia (one per cent); the rest of the country doesn’t even make it onto the board. Even though they get cold too, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia will face a steep punishment for relying on natural gas to keep warm.

Why the unequal treatment? Aside from its high reliance on home heating oil, Atlantic Canada is also high in Liberal votes, which magically makes the region less relevant to the fight against climate change.

The Liberals won each of Atlantic Canada’s 32 ridings in 2015, but dropped to 26 in 2019 and 24 in 2021. As for 2025, Trudeau’s Liberals aren’t looking at a win — they’re just trying to survive. The Oct. 29 projections at 338 Canada predict Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives will form a majority with 207 seats, with the Liberals scraping up a meagre 81.

Meanwhile, polling by Angus Reid shows that “the Liberals lead in only one region in the country — Atlantic Canada.” It’s clear that the volume of the party’s voice in Parliament, post-election 45, will depend strongly on just how many Liberal MPs can cling to their Maritime seats.

Trudeau can’t roll the carbon tax back for everyone, because his reign is defined by his “kneecap the country, save the world” strategy. He needs to ease affordability in key ridings while keeping younger, climate-oriented voters from swaying toward the NDP. The country is thus left with the carbon tax — which, because it applies to virtually the entire economy, will end up costing Canadians more than they stand to gain from the rebate — and the upcoming net-zero electricity regulations.

None of these policies will make a dent in global greenhouse gas emissions, because Canada’s contribution to that grand total is a mere 1.5 per cent. But tough-on-climate appearances need to be kept up, hence the desperate bribe to Atlantic Canada.

To make the message — “vote for us or pay!” — extra clear, Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings told CTV that provinces should elect more Liberal representatives if they hope to have their own carbon tax breaks.

 

(Sidebar: there is someone who should keep her fat yap shut.)

**

Trudeau didn’t try to hide the regional calculations: “We’ve heard clearly from Atlantic Canadians through our amazing Atlantic MPs that since the federal pollution price came into force ... certain features of that pollution price needed adjusting to work for everyone.” But he insisted that “We are doubling down on our fight against climate change and keeping true to the principles that we're supporting Canadians while we fight climate change.”

**

Moe, just do it:

Trudeau has provided a carbon tax exemption on home heating for families in one part of the country, but not here.

It’s unfair, it’s unacceptable, and here’s what we’re going to do about it. pic.twitter.com/7tb9ZeTf0l

— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) October 30, 2023

**

So go Alberta and Saskatchewan, so go the special class:

With the Liberal government opening the door to exemptions to its carbon tax, an Ontario Grand Chief wants it pushed even wider to a full exemption to the levy on Indigenous lands.

**

Justin is digging his little heels in:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there will be no further carbon price carve-outs,including for natural gas heating, as criticism mounts of his decision to temporarily exempt home heating oil from the policy.

The promise is landing with a political thud, with both Conservative and NDP leaders accusing Trudeau of regional favouritism to save his political skin in Atlantic Canada, and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney saying he would have found a different way to ease the rising cost of living.

Trudeau and multiple ministers, including those in charge of environment and energy, are defending the three-year home heating oil exemption today as a policy intended to ensure that Canadians who use the fuel have the time and money needed to transition to electric heat pumps.

They also say that home heating oil users are more likely to have lower incomes and live in rural areas without any other options for heating their homes.

The Liberals are feeling intense heat after Rural Development Minister Gudie Hutchings implied on CTV Question Period on Sunday that Prairies provinces should elect more Liberals if they want their voices heard on the need for carbon pricing relief.

Housing Minister and Nova Scotia MP Sean Fraser says this carbon price pause is not about politics and that many policies affect different regions of the country differently.

 

Bull. Sh--.

Justin was polling badly in the Maritimes (whose votes he badly needs) so he made a vague promise that will kick in come spring time. If he walks back on this horrid tax, he will be clubbed to death faster than a baby seal in Labrador.

But that won't be the only thing Justin will battle:

If the Liberal government was to abandon the carbon tax entirely, inflation in Canada would drop 16 percent, says Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem.

Mr. Macklem provided this information while testifying before the House of Commons finance committee on Oct. 30.

“That would create a one-time drop in inflation of 0.6 percentage points,” said Mr. Macklem in response to a question from Conservative MP Philip Lawrence. Inflation is currently at 3.8 percent in Canada.

 

Tiff needs to cover his ever-at-risk butt. The economy is tanking and he is sugar-coating everything to avoid math-averse Canadians. He is a horrible governor of the Bank of Canada, though a well-compensated one:

Despite its governor warning business leaders not to factor soaring inflation into worker compensation, Canada’s central bank handed out millions of dollars in bonuses to nearly all of its top executives last year.

According to documents uncovered by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, all but two of the Bank of Canada’s 82 executives received some sort of “performance pay” in 2022, totalling $3.5 million.