Friends of carbon tax show support
Ian Austin, The Province June 26, 2008
Premier Gordon Campbell's beleaguered carbon tax, unpopular with the public and under attack from opposition politicians, got a brief reprieve yesterday as academics and businessmen backed the tax.
Organized by Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, yesterday's event featured half a dozen speakers touting the tax as a courageous show of leadership.
"I fear that [the government] will get cold feet," said Len Laycock, president of Upholstery Arts on Burrard, where the media event was held.
"This is not the time for turning, this is a time for going forward.
"People have lost sight of the fact that this is a revenue-neutral tax.
"We can't have policy that's based on this summer's oil prices -- we have to think 10 and 15 years down the line."
David Demers, CEO of Westport Innovations, said he thinks voters should direct their anger at oil companies making record profits, not Campbell's carbon tax.
"The issue that people are upset about is the price of gasoline.
"We've all become addicted to gasoline and diesel fuel -- it's time to change. This debate is not being driven by science or economics, it's being driven by politics."
SFU economist John Richards believes the provincial government hasn't spelled out the benefits of the tax, letting the opposition score political points with its "Axe the Gas Tax" initiative.
"I don't think the provincial government has done nearly enough to convince average British Columbians," said Richards, who compared the naysayers to those who opposed universal health care in his native Saskatchewan in the 1960s.
UBC economist David Green said Campbell's political advisers have no one to blame but themselves for the attacks on the carbon tax.
"We felt there wasn't enough done to detail these policies," said Green. "They left a gap open for others to drive through."
Campbell's carbon tax has also been indirectly attacked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the most powerful of a large group of vocal critics taking on federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion's proposal for a federal carbon tax.
Comments (1)
This an extension of the NWO's goal of instituting a carbon tax that the entire globe pays to a World Bank. Were going to be drowning in fees and taxes, it will destroy the middle class.
Why don't we address real issues like the dumping of raw sewage into the ocean, the production of BPA leaching plastics, the mercury found in HFCS, the mercury used as a preservative in vaccinations, melamine contaminated baby and pet foods, the pharmaceuticals in our drinking water, the fluoride used in water in the US, the fast food industry which creates an enormous amount of waste and contributes to a variety of auto-immune diseases.