Slave labour-made toys powered by an inadequate power grid and subsidised by the taxpayers is a scam that the powers that be will not just let go:
Governments have already invested tens of billions into two EV battery manufacturing plants in southwestern Ontario. However, they come with the environmental dilemma of what to do with the millions of EV batteries when they reach the end of their life.
"The rules are non-existent," said Mark Winfield, a professor at York University in Toronto and co-chair of the school's Sustainable Energy Initiative. "There is nothing as we talk to agencies on both sides of the border, the federal, provincial, state levels.
"In the case of Ontario, the answer was actually that we have no intention of doing anything about this."
When asked for its response, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks did not return a request for comment from CBC News.
Winfield said the fact there is no public policy on the disposal of EV batteries is concerning because a number of the chemicals and components used to make EV batteries, such as cadmium, arsenic and nickel, are listed as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and simply can't be thrown into a landfill.
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For reasons left unexplained, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals chose this moment to unveil Ottawa’s new Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, mandating that, as of 2035, all new vehicles sold in Canada must be electric. Only about one Canadian in 10 now owns an electric vehicle, amid signs of waning interest. That didn’t stop Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault from insisting that if someone builds them, buyers will come. Who knows, he may be right, but if so there’s a real chance the factory producing the cars and the batteries that run them will be from a plant located or controlled somewhere in China.
In addition to cheap labour and manufacturing capacity, China controls much of the cobalt and rare earth minerals essential to producing EV batteries.
About 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the globe’s poorest, most corrupt and unstable countries. Of 19 Congo cobalt operations, 15 are owned in whole or part by Chinese powers. So harsh are conditions that mining operations sometimes require military protection. Beijing works hard to protect and expand its dominance, recently imposing a ban on the export of technology for processing rare earth minerals, another vital battery input it dominates.
It’s no secret that China aims to use technology and commercial access to gain leverage over democracies and western competitors. Dominance in the auto industry would greatly further that goal. A 2023 CSIS report warned that gains for China in global EV markets represents a threat to jobs and industrial competitiveness in Europe and North America. “Increased dependencies on China carry risks,” it noted, given China’s record of using its economic clout “to punish countries that challenge its position in international affairs.” As well, China is by far the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter and continues to burn vast amounts of coal. Data group Global Energy Monitor calculates China is building six times as many new coal plants as the rest of the world combined.
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But I thought it was the principle of the thing that mattered!:
Cabinet’s billion-dollar carbon tax cut on home heating oil followed months of warnings from in-house pollsters, records show. Homeowners opposed the tax as costly and divisive in Atlantic Canada where 24 Liberal MPs are up for re-election: “Almost all believed the carbon pricing system was too complicated and did not expect this initiative would be effective in reducing emissions.”
The Trudeau government finds itself embroiled in controversy yet again over allegations of misusing taxpayer funds to benefit allied interests. The latest case centers on a series of questionable grants to the environmental group Equiterre, an organization with close ties to Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault.
This incident is part of a pattern of accusations that public money has improperly flowed to third-party groups whose agendas align with and amplify Liberal policies. The cozy arrangements allow the government to effectively outsource promotion of its agenda by funding sympathetic organizations like Equiterre.
However, it raises serious ethical concerns about partisan bias influencing the allocation of taxpayer resources. As details emerge about Equiterre lobbying against Canadian industries while accepting government largesse, it provides further evidence that politics rather than merit drives funding decisions under the Liberals’ watch.
With questions swirling, the Trudeau government faces mounting pressure to open the books and prove grants are awarded fairly, not just to friendly allies. The Equiterre grants may represent another black mark on the Liberals’ commitment to ethical government.
Scott Moe simply doesn't care about the carbon tax:
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is reminding residents that there is no more federal carbon tax on home heating starting on Jan. 1.“Saskatchewan families can say so long to paying the carbon tax on home heating beginning on Monday,” Mr. Moe said in a Dec. 30, 2023, post on X.In the new year, both provincial Crown corporations SaskEnergy and SaskPower will no longer be collecting the federal carbon tax on home heating bills, a Dec. 28, 2023, government news release said.Mr. Moe’s decision comes after the federal government announced a three-year pause on the federal carbon tax for heating oil, which largely benefits Atlantic Canada, where 30 percent of households use the oil.The announcement, made in October 2023, was to give extra time to Canadians to switch to electric heat pumps, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.Five provinces have called on Mr. Trudeau to pause the tax on all forms of home heating.
Then five more provinces can cancel the tax.
Simply don't charge for it or pay for it.
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