The Globe and Mail - 02.11.2019

O10 OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019

EDITORIAL

PHILLIP CRAWLEY

PUBLISHERANDCEO

DAVID WALMSLEY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

T

his week in Alberta ended with Encana announcing

it was shifting its corporate domicile to the United

States, a move the government of Premier Jason

Kenney decried as symptomatic of the litany of challenges

facing the province’s oil and gas sector, and which it blamed,

with limited regard to the truth, on the Justin Trudeau

government.

But the week in Alberta-Ottawa relations started more

hopefully, with Mr. Kenney, rather than demonizing the feds,

quietly moving closer to them on one of the main issues

facing the province’s leading industry: carbon emissions.

On Tuesday, the United Conservative Party government

unveiled its climate plan. Its centrepiece is – surprise – a

carbon tax. What’s more, the tax rate will be $30 a tonne, as

demanded by Ottawa.

Yes, Alberta’s overall plan is weaker and narrower than

what smart climate policy should look like: It covers major

emitters such as power plants and the oil industry, but it

exempts consumers. Nevertheless, it represents a step

forward for Mr. Kenney’sgovernment.

It’s not a complete plan. But it’s far from a complete sham.

Like many other conservatives, Mr. Kenney has spent

years railing against carbon taxes. It helped his UCP win the

spring election. On taking office, Mr. Kenney immediately

rescinded the tax on consumers put in place by the previous

New Democraticgovernment – asymbolic gesture, since

Albertans will instead soon be paying (and getting rebates

from) a federal carbon tax.

As Mr. Kenney and conservatives battled carbon taxes,

Canadians en masse moved toward action on climate

change. A strong majority of voters in the federal election

backed parties that support carbon pricing.

This is the context in which Mr. Kenney’s industrial carbon

tax for Alberta marks progress. He has gone farther than he

planned before he was elected Premier.

The new tax of $30 a tonne will apply to about 120 large

facilities, and the rate is 50-per-cent higher than the $20 a

tonne in the UCP’s election platform. On coming to power,

the UCP was told by industry officials that $20 was inade-

quate, because it fell short of the federal $30 standard and

would have invited Ottawa to step in.

Will Alberta hike its rate to $50 by 2022, as Ottawa wants?

The UCP says it will consider it. Again, this is a step forward.

The new Alberta system has received particular kudos

from climate experts for the way it handles emissions from

electricity generation – a significant source of pollution in

Alberta because of coal power. The UCP is keeping the rules

the NDP established, which offer better incentives for carbon

reduction than Ottawa’s less well-designed regime.

However, Mr. Kenney’s plan for the oil sands and other

large industrial operations is less impressive. It reverses

improvements made by the NDP. Instead of measuring indi-

vidual facilities against an industry standard, each emitter

will be judged against its own past. That rewards the dirtiest

operations and punishes the cleanest.

Mr. Kenney’s carbon tax is stronger than expected, but still

weaker than what Alberta had in place under the NDP. The

proof is in the dollars. Over the three fiscal years from 2020-21

through 2022-23, Mr. Kenney’s carbon tax is expected to bring

in $1.35-billion. That’s $700-million less than what the NDP’s

industrial carbon strategy would have produced.

The previous NDPgovernment also expected to raise $1.2-

billion this year from the broader-economy carbon tax that

the UCP killed.

The UCP’s ambivalent commitment to taking on climate

change is also clear in its plans for the carbon-tax revenues.

The cash is supposed to be invested in technology – but more

than a third of it could be used to reduce the deficit and

promote the oil industry. (In contrast, nearly all federal

carbon-tax revenues will be returned to Alberta taxpayers.)

Alberta’s carbon plan could have been better, but it also

could have been far worse. Despite long-standing conserva-

tive intransigence on carbon pricing, Mr. Kenney has made a

concession to the reality of climate science, and politics.

For the government of Alberta, call it one step forward, one

foot firmly planted in place.

Because even as Mr. Kenney quietly imposes his carbon

tax on industry, he can keep up his very public opposition to

any such tax on consumers – secure in the knowledge that

Ottawa will act to fill the gap.

JasonKenney’s

carbon-tax

compromise

DID I DO THAT?

Re PM Hires McLellan To Address

Western Discontent (Oct. 30): Ja-

son Kenney is making a big fuss

about the unfairness to Alberta of

equalization.

It should be noted that the for-

mula is examined every five years

by Ottawa, and substantive one-

off modifications were made in

2007 and 2009. The formula was

left basically the same in 2014, and

again this year. Who was in power

from 2006 to 2015? Stephen Har-

per, with Jason Kenney as a prom-

inent member of his cabinets.

The equalization formula that

Mr. Kenney complains so much

about is, technically, his own do-

ing.

Jim BurkeWoodstock,Ont.

JUNIOR, SENIOR

Re Like Father, Like Son (Opinion,

Oct. 26): When Andrew Cohen de-

scribed Pierre Trudeau’s patria-

tion of the British North America

Act as “the single greatest act of

nation-building in the history of

Canada,” he does not note that it

was done without Quebec’s con-

sent. Lest the rest of Canada de-

ceive themselves, it wasn’t just

the separatists that rejected the

proposal; the National Assembly,

federalists included, voted

against it. Subsequently, two ref-

erendums on separation nearly

ripped the country to shreds.

Today, Justin Trudeau stares

down the abyss of a revived Bloc

Québécois. We now have a party

in Ottawa dedicated to tearing the

country apart. Is anyone paying

attention?

Alexandra PhillipsVancouver

In his 15 years as prime minister,

Pierre Trudeau ran massive defi-

cits, leaving his successors in a fi-

nancial bind. Brian Mulroney had

to introduce the GST and Jean

Chrétien had to slash spending

and raise taxes to keep the coun-

try fiscally afloat.

Justin Trudeau also plans to

run deficits every year – why not?

It seemed to work for his dad. Let’s

hope he doesn’t last 15 years as

well.

T.S. RamsayGuelph,Ont.

Justin Trudeau would be well ad-

vised to take his father’s advice. In

particular, Pierre Trudeau refused

to be “headwaiter to the prov-

inces.” Consequently, he did not

pander to the premiers of any

province.

Our Constitution clearly grants

certain powers to Ottawa, includ-

ing interprovincial commerce. We

need a federalgovernment that

will stand up for Canada, not re-

gional satrapies.

Joe O’BrienHalifax

For Justin Trudeau to equal his fa-

ther’s legacy in nation-building, it

is vital for the Prime Minister to

tackle the big issues. His next

mandate should not be about ful-

filling middle-class economic

promises or even improving

health care. Rather, it should be

about addressing climate change

and doing what is right for our

First Nations. If he can correct

these wrongs, then he will equal

his father’s legacy. Without this, I

fear we face a future of shame and

unfulfilled potential.

Marilyn RaymondToronto

POWER TO THE INFORMED

Re No Endorsement This Time

Was A Good Thing (Oct. 26): I dis-

agree with Public Editor Sylvia

Stead’s suggestion that it might be

better for The Globe and Mail to

discontinue endorsing political

parties at election time.

Although the editorial staff

may have differing opinions, in 50

years of subscribing to this news-

paper, I have never caught it in

what I know to be an outright lie –

unlike the online trolls or hackers

trying to destabilize democracies

around the world. A newspaper

can be held accountable for what

they publish, while these other

entities are very unlikely to be

sued for libel.

Most educated readers have

busy lives and don’t have the time

to investigate every important is-

sue on their own, and need to rely

on ethical news sources for de-

tailed and credible information.

After all, isn’t that the very reason

they read newspapers?

Frank FoulkesToronto

YELLOW LIGHT

Re BoC Holds Interest Rate Steady

As U.S. Fed Makes Cut (Report On

Business, Oct. 31): The Governor

of the Bank of Canada seems cor-

rect in sounding a note of caution.

The amount of household debt

and people who are living beyond

their means should be troubling

for everyone.The Liberalgovern-

ment should recognize that they

must be more balanced in their

approach to spending. We

shouldn’t continue to play Lord

Bountiful when the cupboard

looks bare.

Anne RobinsonToronto

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE

Re A Thin Blue Line (Oct. 26): Po-

lice are indeed dealing increasing-

ly with people with mental-

health issues. One action worth

highlighting is the work of Hamil-

ton’s Crisis Outreach and Support

Team, run by the police in part-

nership with St. Joseph’s Health-

care Hamilton.

The COAST service, which pro-

vides police units trained by doc-

tors and nurses in mental-health

and addiction issues, has saved

many lives. I know this, having

seen their work up close in the

treatment of a loved one. I believe

these specialized members of the

Hamilton police deserve credit

and respect for their service to the

community.

Christine MinelliHamilton

YOURS TO DISCOVER

Re The Road To Nowhere: Claims

Ontario’s Ring Of Fire Is Worth

$60-billion Are Nonsense (Report

On Business, Oct. 26): It is shame-

ful to me that financial non-via-

bility, rather than ecological sig-

nificance, was the death knell of

the Ring of Fire.

The James Bay Lowlands are a

boreal paradise, one of the last

such intact ecosystems left on

Earth, a vast area of rivers, wet-

lands and forest that is Ontario’s

Serengeti, not Ontario’s oil sands.

The mines would have been, first,

an ecological disaster.

Frank de JongHuntsville,Ont.

THAT WAS EASY

Re Green Screen (Opinion, Oct.

26): Contributor Margaret Munro

writes that travellers should be

able to simply plop down a few

dollars toward carbon offset cred-

its on their next luxury vacation.

Bing! Your conscience is cleared.

Do we really think that adding a

few dollars to the cookie jar of a

“trustedgovernment organiza-

tion” will turn the climate catas-

trophe around?

Heidi DischingerCalgary

BEDTIME STORIES 2.0

Re Go Go Gadget (Pursuits, Oct.

26): Luka, the AI reading robot,

can narrate 50,000 books, but

does it provide body warmth and

a trusted voice? Will it laugh at the

funny bits with a child or give

hugs when the story is scary? Will

it indulge in delightful sidetracks

into the meaning of an ambigu-

ous word or a detail the illustrator

has snuck in just to make one

wonder?

What I imagine Luka does do:

not take notice when a child has

abandoned the book it was

“teaching” them to read. It may go

right on reading to an empty

room.

Isobel RavenToronto

Q&A

Re Quebec Moves Ahead With A

Controversial Values Test For New

Immigrants (Oct. 31): I hope the

first question on the new values

test is: “In Quebec, are you al-

lowed to discriminate on the basis

of religion?” If anyone answers

“No,” they fail.

Brian KearnsSt.Albert,Alta.

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