General

Are regulated gas prices a solution? No. They tend to hide true daily market price moves that most can easily get through the internet and surprise many when, without notice they are suddenly changed, often with bizarre formulas that fail to reflect market realities Can governments do anything? Yes, plenty. Startung with suspending carbon taxes, rebating the windfall from the GST or HST applied as a percentage to the higher price. It’s neither oney they’ve budgeted for and its creating a significant financial burden on Canadians – even those that don’t drive. Been to a grocery store and checked out food prices lately? Why do prices vary between Provinces even gas stations? Taxes account for the main difference as every province in Canada has differing taxes on fuel. Differences between gas stations in the same city are typically the result of some gasbars adjusting their retail margins, which they need to cover the costs associated with running their site and honouring credit cards which often cost them 2-6 cents a litre depending on the rewards percentage.

Here we are two weeks into a $50 dollar a ton Trudeau-Singh carbon tax – almost another 10 cents/litre on average for Canadians at the pumps Yes, this Trudeau-Singh increase applies only to the Prairies, Ontario and New Brunswick, but BC’s NDP government just whacked that province with its own massive carbon tax increase. And shortly, most Canadians will soon get their next monthly round bills: electricity and natural gas and propane and heating oil.  All of these will be higher too.   It will also show (again) in higher grocery bills (have you checked the price of a pound of butter lately?)  And of course, it will show in the price of every other consumer good, and everything else. Why? Because affordable energy is the core competitive advantage of everything we do in Canadian society: the cost of everything reflects the cost of producing and transporting that thing, and the cost of producing and transporting that thing incurs energy costs.  And ultimately, you and I have to pay for it.  No amount of token rebates addresses that – the tax grows faster than the rebate cheques.  And the Trudeau-Singh alliance is destroying that core competitive advantage, by raising the cost …

Two weeks in to a 25% carbon tax increase – and the hurt keeps building Read More »

Here we are one week into a $50 dollar a ton Trudeau-Singh carbon tax – almost another 10 cents/litre on average for Canadians at the pumps!   And shortly we will all get our next monthly round bills: electricity and natural gas and propane and heating oil. All of these will be higher too.   It will also show (again) in higher grocery bills (have you checked the price of a pound of butter lately?)  And of course, it will show in the price of every other consumer good, and everything else. Why? Because affordable energy is the core competitive advantage of everything we do in Canadian society: the cost of everything reflects the cost of producing and transporting that thing, and the cost of producing and transporting that thing incurs energy costs.  And ultimately, you and I have to pay for it. No amount of token rebates addresses that – the tax grows faster than the rebate cheques.  And the Trudeau-Singh alliance is destroying that core competitive advantage, by raising the cost of energy, that in turn raises the cost of everything else. Despite what Justin Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh and their fellow green cultists say, energy use is not a bad …

One week in to a 25% carbon tax increase – and the hurt keeps building Read More »

As Vladimir Putin wreaks havoc in Ukraine, he rests confident knowing that Canada – one of the world’s most energy-rich nations – remains utterly incapable of doing anything to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas. The Europeans are, after all, the bank for Putin’s military aggression. Europe needs Russian oil and gas and they have no other plausible supplier in sight. In a slightly different world, Canada would have been in a terrific position to supply Europe with an alternative supply of oil and gas. But, because once upon a time, Justin Trudeau discovered that it was “2015” and Harper was out and he was in, the Trudeau Liberals declared war on Canada’s oil and gas industry.  Canada’s own war on oil and gas – and the Canadian consumer – entered a new phase this week.  Canada Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault tabled the Government of Canada’s “Emission Reduction Plan” yesterday (March 29) in the House of Commons (2030 Emissions Reduction Plan – Canada’s Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy – Canada.ca) This Emission Reduction Plan,” or “ERP,” is intended to detail how the new Trudeau-Singh government will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that is 40-45% below …

Trudeau’s Emission Reduction Plan: Uncertainty, More Taxes, and Nothing to Help a Dangerous World Read More »