It's Just An Economy

It can grow all by itself, right?:

Canada’s economy contracted in the second quarter of this year due to “significant declines” in the export of goods, driven by United States-imposed tariffs, and decreased business investment in machinery and equipment, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Real gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the total monetary value of goods and services produced in a country, declined 0.4 per cent after a 0.5 per cent gain the previous quarter, the national data agency said. On a per capita basis, GDP was down 0.4 per cent, after an increase of 0.4 per cent in the previous quarter.

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Poilievre is labelling the Clean Fuel Regulation (CFR) as “carbon tax 2.0” or “the second carbon tax.” The regulations came into effect in 2023 and, according to the Conservative leader, are adding several cents to the price of gas across Canada.

The CFR focuses on oil producers and refiners, and aims to reduce greenhouse emissions in Canada. According to the Government of Canada, the regulation is “designed to incentivize innovation and adoption of clean technologies and expand the use of low carbon intensity fuels throughout the economy.” ...

Referencing a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Poilievre said CFR will increase the price of gas by up to 17 cents by 2030.  “What did the last carbon tax add to your gas? Seventeen cents per litre. The new tax is starting to look a lot like the old tax, and Mark Carney thinks no one will notice,” Poilievre said.

Jessica Green, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, says it’s more complicated than that.

“It is (the same) in the sense that it regulates suppliers,” she told National Post. “And then the suppliers have to decide what they want to do to cover the cost of compliance, and they can pass those costs on to the consumer.”

 

Exactly what has changed since the village idiot?