Government models (snicker) tell us so
(Toronto Star) Ontario’s new climate-change plan will cost the average household $13 a month — far less than a carbon tax that would have meant a monthly hit of up to $107, according to an internal report on the scheme.
Premier Kathleen Wynne’s cap-and-trade proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enshrined in legislation expected to pass Wednesday, will drag on the economy by 0.03 per cent in 2020.
Growth forecast to be 11 per cent between 2015 and 2020 will be adjusted downward to 10.97 per cent, having roughly the same effect on the provincial economy as a statutory holiday.
That’s according to a government draft obtained by the Star of the “impact modeling and analysis†of Ontario’s new carbon-pricing program being done along with Quebec and Ontario.
In other words, when the Real World invades, the costs will surely go up at least three to four times. When has a government program actually been at the projected cost? Especially when these taxes start spreading through the economy, and businesses have to raise their prices? And businesses will have carbon caps, which means either reducing service or increasing costs.
As well, it points out more than 50 different “carbon-intensive†industries, including auto manufacturing, cement, chemicals, forestry, iron and steel, and petroleum, face some risk under the forthcoming regime.
Environment Minister Glen Murray insisted Monday that that’s why the government will have “transitional assistance†to help businesses adjust to the new reality of polluting less.
You know what they do? Move. Close down. They mostly won’t be looking for “transitional assistance”. And then people are out of work. Then there’s this
(Daily Caller) To reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that activists tell us will lead to problematic warming, Ontario has become the first jurisdiction in North America to permanently ban coal-fired electricity generation. The consequences are important for Americans to note.
In 2002, when coal provided about 25 percent of our electricity, Ontario had the lowest electricity prices in Canada. We were the nation’s powerhouse with hundreds of thousands of well paid, manufacturing jobs.
Today, with no coal-fired power at all, our electricity rates are 318 percent higher and at least 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last 15 years. Tom Adams, independent energy researcher and former board member of the Ontario Independent Electricity Market Operator explains that, although there were several factors that contributed to this fiasco, closing down coal, a flexible, reliable and moderately priced source of supply, was the single most important cause.
The article goes on to note that wind turbines are being forced upon citizens and communities, even on those who were promised that they wouldn’t be forced on “unwilling communities”. They’ve lowered property values, and are shown to cause health issues. The government doesn’t care.
The question that should be put to all climate change activists, people who want to close our least expensive, most efficient power plants in the name of “stopping climate change,†is simple. Are the largely unpredictable problems of people yet to be born more important that the very real problems climate mitigation policy is now causing our most vulnerable citizens? The answer would be most inconvenient.
Of course, Warmists do not care. All this does is increase the size and power of government, which is their purpose. Strangely, they never seem to realize that this will negatively effect their own lives.
BTW, the liberal government won’t confirm the report that shows they want to eliminate the use of natural gas, one of the least costly and most efficient home heating methods, and that the plan would require that homes built after 2030 not include natural gas. Going off natural gas can increase costs by $2000 a year, and converting can cost over $4500.
This is a good thing! The government have made a projection on what all of this is going to cost, and now we’ll have a real-world example of how well, or how poorly, such estimates are made. Either way, it’s the Canadians who will have to pay up, not us.
Who knows, maybe the warmists are right, and this won’t cost much at all; this will be their chance to prove it. And if they’re wrong, we’ll see that, and won’t engage in such foolishness ourselves.
Gee when i tried to check primary sources about this I did find an article that attributed most of the increase to simple mismanagement
http://www.torontosun.com/2016/02/29/ontario-electricity-rates-fastest-rising-in-north-america
Wind power costs have dropped 58% in the last 5 years, unfortunately Ontario locked in their rates. This was from a conservative sitehttp://www.toddsmithmpp.ca/thunderstruck_how_the_liberal_government_is_driving_up_your_hydro_bill
Natural Gas currently costs about 30% less to make electricity than does coal. Coal is Victorian, an obsolete way to get energy
Putting aside the completely bogus premise for this particular “tax” (which will do nothing for the environment but will transfer more money from the private sector to the government) every tax starts out small. But as history shows, once a tax is in place the politicians cannot resist constantly tweaking it upwards. Don’t forget, the US income tax started at 1% and only over a certain income.