Fort Nelson Carbon Tax Opposition

Posted March 26, 2008 by Sacha Peter
Category: Analysis, Environment

The Mayor and Council of Fort Nelson, a town in the far northeast of the province, has called upon the government to give an exemption to northern communities from the carbon tax because they consider their fossil fuel consumption to be a non-discretionary expense given their geographical location.

The province is very unlikely to respond to their request, mainly because of how the legislation is structured - for example, according to the revenue neutrality aspects of the carbon tax, corporate and personal income taxes would decrease. There is no way that the province would also offer differing rates of taxation depending on the region.

The issue of the carbon tax is part of a larger issue which divides the province - the urban-rural split. Currently, the BC Liberals have 6 MLAs elected from the northern regions (considered to be roughly Prince George and above). Although two of these ridings (Peace River North, Peace River South) are safely BC Liberal ridings, the other ridings are contestable by NDP candidates. It should be noted that Peace River North and Peace River South were also both elected BC Reform party candidates in 1996.

A loss of 6 MLAs would result in the loss of a majority in the legislature (using 2005 boundaries).

The government has to be very careful at balancing the fine line between the urban and rural interests of the province. Currently their emphasis on environmental and aboriginal affairs has continued to marginalize the NDP, but at the possible expense of alienating rural voters.

I do not foresee this alienation resonating too deeply enough to harm the BC Liberal party’s chances for another majority government in 2009, but it is something to watch for.

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Michael Smyth on the Premiers and Climate Change

Posted January 29, 2008 by Sacha Peter
Category: Environment

This one was is paraphrased roughly from the Vancouver Province:

By standing up for the oil industry, Mr. Stelmach seizes a critical “wedge issue” prior to the election while appealing to Albertans’ well-honed sense of western alienation when it comes to their oil reserves. The other premiers understand that kind of hardball politics. Ontario Premier McGuinty wants to be seen as a leader on climate change, but he has a huge industrial economic base that is on its knees. Every politician wants to look like they are saving the planet, but does not want to stick their own necks out while they do it. Premier Campbell is sitting in the cat-bird seat: he has promised to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, but he does not have an auto industry to worry about. Going green is easier for Campbell and it has transformed him into a national leader on the issue, to the frustration of his domestic political enemies such as NDP Leader Carole James. Climate change is a losing political issue for a guy like Stelmach. It’s a winner for a guy like Campbell. And he’s milking it for all it’s worth.

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