In a few months, the NDP will introduce a carbon tax on all forms of energy consumed within our province. The premise, is to improve the image of the Alberta Oil and Gas Industry, gaining approval for new pipelines, desperately needed by that oil and gas industry and the people employed by it.
This tax will affect every single aspect of our lives, in ways not fully disclosed by the NDP. Every city and town council in the province is going to have to pay more for operating costs, for the fuel burned in city vehicles and buses, for heating and electricity used in city and town buildings and for the electricity to power street lights. This extra cost will be passed on to all property owners in the form of increased city taxes, no matter where you live. Every single store we all shop in: groceries, clothing, furniture, electronics, gifts, and restaurant’s will all in turn face increased operating costs and have only one choice to recover these costs and that is to pass them onto the consumer. There will be no new pipelines in exchange for this new and sweeping financial burden. The Federal Government has taken steps behind the scenes to ensure the approval process has been extended to last for many years before any decision is even discussed. A purposeful move by Justin Trudeau to delay the process until there is no marketable need for a pipeline and the opportunity is lost or no longer justifiable because he doesn’t want pipelines, but he doesn’t want to disrupt the process out in the open for the public to see. At the end of the day, more money will be taken out of your pocket for nothing in exchange, at a time when we are collectively going through one of the hardest economic downturns in decades, if not ever.
Duke Hanson
Red Deer