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

New Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) will hurt Canada’s economic recovery says economist Miguel Ouellette



The federal government will soon publish the new Clean Fuel Standard (CFS). 

Although this reform has attracted less attention from the general public than the imposition of a carbon tax, it is once again Canadian manufacturing companies and consumers who will feel its effects. A new Montreal Economic Institute publication, prepared by economist Miguel Ouellette, shines a light on the unintended consequences of the CFS.

“Given Canada’s precarious economic situation during this pandemic, governments should show some flexibility when it comes to businesses, since many of them are struggling just to stay afloat,” says Miguel Ouellette.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the federal government is about to take a step in the wrong direction by imposing a new fuel standard. With this measure, Canada would stand alone, placing its companies at a disadvantage with regard to foreign competitors,” points out the author of the publication.

1.7 million Canadian manufacturing jobs affected

Indeed, by imposing a stricter standard across supply chains, the government’s action will increase production costs.

“Not only will consumers pay more, but Canadian manufacturers will have a harder time exporting or matching the prices of foreign products. In Canada, that’s 1.7 million jobs in this sector that will be affected by the measure,” adds the researcher.

“When the government takes this kind of risk, the least it can do is be very sure that the environment will actually benefit. In this case, that’s far from certain. Companies can manufacture their products in countries with regulations that are less strict,” says the economist.

“In short, we could see carbon leakage: Instead of being emitted here, GHGs will be emitted elsewhere. This doesn’t help the environment at all, and it certainly doesn’t help Canadian workers,” says Mr. Ouellette.

“This is a public policy whose objective is laudable, but whose implementation may prove very costly without producing the anticipated benefits. The government should at least wait for Canadian companies to get back on their feet after the pandemic before proposing another regulatory obstacle,” the author concluded.

The Economic Note entitled “The CFS: A Measure That Will Hurt Canada’s Economic Recovery” was prepared by Miguel Ouellette, Economist at the MEI.

 

The Montreal Economic Institute ... is an independent public policy think tank. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policy-makers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

Comments

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