Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

JOHN FELDSTED -- The federal government pretense that Canada’s contributions to C02 emissions, will help or hurt the rate and extent of climate change, is unsupported by fact


There has been a good deal of publicity surrounding the Ontario Appeal Court decision on federal carbon pricing. Politicians and the media contend that the OAC decision is a confirmation of federal government powers under the peace, order and good government provision of the constitution.

The issues underlying federal carbon pricing legislation run far deeper than that. The Ontario Court and now the Ontario Appeal Court have held that we have a matter of national concern merely because the government of the day declares that it is so.

The OAC decision was not unanimous and the dissenting opinion has not received due attention. Justice Grant Huscroft wrote the dissenting opinion. I suggest you give the writeup on his opinion in the National Post a read. It is enlightening.

Many would argue our vast forests
make Canada carbon neutral
The Ontario (and Saskatchewan) rulings on the federal carbon pricing law violate the spirit of constitutional division of powers between the federal and provincial governments. Provinces generally have power over all local affairs, that is, all matters within their boundaries including the development, regulation and taxation of natural resources. The powers of the federal government are different from, but not superior to the powers of the provinces.

Environmental issues do not confer special powers on the federal government. Subjects like the environment have to be considered in the context of which aspects are local and which, if any, are federal.

Climate change is not isolated to Canada; it is a worldwide phenomenon. The federal government pretense that Canada’s contributions to carbon dioxide emissions will help or hurt the rate and extent of climate change is unsupported by fact. Climate change can have profound effects on our environment. Our government has it backward, believing that regulating the environment can control climate change.   

The world reduction in carbon dioxide emissions are well short of meeting targets set at the 2015 Paris climate change conference. There are only 57 nations who have or are expected to have peaked CO2 emission by 2020 and they represent only 40% of major emitting nations. See World Energy System Not On Track to Meet Paris Agreement Goals Page 7.

The danger within the federal carbon price law is that it overrides provincial jurisdiction without adequate justification. This government cannot show that implementing its escalating prices on carbon-based energy sources will protect us from suffering future ill effects of climate change. It cannot show that the $ billions of income and investment resulting from our failure to develop petroleum and other resources are justified. Canadians are already paying heavily for government policies that inhibit resource development. 

The precedent set is onerous. If allowed to stand, the federal government acquires the power to write law and regulations on any issue by declaring it to be of national importance. That is a violation of democratic principles.

Our federal government has spent four years inundating us with and questionable propaganda to demonize fossil fuels and shame us into accepting that we are contributing to a climatic apocalypse. Rather than responding to public concerns, this government is creating public concerns. That is not what they were elected to do.

The origins of this passion lie in the large and expensive Canadian contingent sent to the Paris climate change conference in December 2015 when this government was barely in office. Justin Trudeau and compatriots were determined to make a major ‘Canada is back’ statement and take a lead role in combatting climate change. That fit his objective of securing a seat on the UN Security Council.

Canada never left the world stage. We were quiet, staid, but respected. That is no longer the case.


John Feldsted
Political Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 5, 2019 at 12:45 PM

    Where did John Feldsted get his science degree? Fair question.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DaveJuly 5, 2019 at 1:03 PM

    Seriously John? "Questionable propaganda demonizing fossil fuels." It won't make a difference if we reduce our emissions? Good grief. THIS could is propaganda. Reads like a press release from Big Oil. But I do agree that the carbon tax is ridiculous. We can't tax our way out of this one. We need strong and immediate legislation in our resource sector. If foreign companies won't comply, nationalize them. Let Canadians control their own destiny.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FORSETH -- If having three un-happy MLA’s leave the party, is what it takes to have unity within caucus, then I say, “Fine; let it be so”

Regrettably, in recent days, issues within the Conservative Party of BC have come to the surface resulting in one member being removed from Caucus (Dallas Brodie) and the party, and two others (Tara Armstrong and Jordan Kealy) leaving of their own accord. As of this morning (Saturday March 8th) all three are now sitting as independents in the BC legislature. So, what does that mean? In the last twenty-four hours social media feeds have lit up with support for leader John Rustad, while others have been negative, accusing the party, and Rustad, of being bullies and not standing up for conservative values. Ryan Painter, who has personally worked with John Rustad, had this to say: Since the beginning, he's had one target: the BC NDP. He knows that British Columbians deserve a government that works for them, delivers on their promises, and doesn't tax them into poverty. He believes in his team and the power of a focused opposition. He knows who the enemy is. He knows BC deserves ...
Post a Comment
Read more

WARD STAMER: “Hopefully he’s actually listening to what people have to say, and not just showing up for a photo op”

In his latest travels across the province, BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar touched down in the Okanagan. A trip essentially, he said, to be on the ground meeting industry people. I read what he had to say, and about how he has been tasked with getting more timber to market. Let me start by saying, “ He hasn’t been tasked. He and Premier Eby guaranteed 45 million cubic metres of available wood fibre – they guaranteed that .” BC Timber Sales is a government agency within the provincial forest’s ministry, which is responsible for managing a portion of the province's Crown timber; specifically, 20 percent of the province's annual allowable cut. Unfortunately, BC Timber Sales did not provide anywhere near that amount last year, it was just 12.2 percent. Three years ago, BC mills cut 52 million metres of wood, bringing in nearly $2 billion dollars to the provincial treasury. That figure doesn’t include the taxes from 55,700 people directly employed in the industry, nor from the tens o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conservative Opposition demonstrates focused and policy-oriented approach in first four weeks of the legislative session

In the first four weeks of the legislative session, the Conservative Official Opposition has scored significant policy wins as it proves every day that the Conservative team has fresh ideas and real-world experience to bring to the table. At the same time, the NDP government has been listless, struggling to find a policy agenda that addresses the problems that British Columbians are facing. “This NDP government led by David Eby has tried to do everything under the sun to distract from their disastrous fiscal record and the fact that they are utterly out of ideas,” said Conservative Opposition Leader John Rustad. “They’ve tried to use the U.S. President to deflect from their eye-popping $11 billion deficit, the worst business confidence in the country, and the fact that they’ve created almost zero private sector jobs. This is no way to run a province or an economy.” Since the legislative session started on February 18th with the Throne Speech, the opposition...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more