Carbon Pricing and the Integrity of Creation

                                                     Erin O'Toole Carbon Pricing  Announcement 

 Earth Sunday, Earth Week, and Earth Day tomorrow. Yes, there is a reason for a few days of environmental and Creation-care related blog posts. 

A few days ago the Conservative Party of Canada announced that, if elected, it would bring in a form of carbon pricing to replace the current system used by the Liberal federal government. Carbon pricing charges greenhouse gas producing industries and consumers. and rewards those who develop a smaller carbon footprint. This is regularly called a carbon tax but the premise is that will be revenue neutral for the government, redistributing the revenue in the form of rebates to those who reduce emissions.

Through the years the federal Conservatives have steadfastly opposed carbon pricing, labelling it as a tax grab. Several Conservative provincial governments, including Alberta and Ontario, took the federal to court in opposition, and lost. Ontario spent $30 million in taxpayers money in this lawsuit in which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that because climate change represents an existential threat to the well-being of all Canadians the federal government has the legal right to mitigate its causes. 

Are you yawning yet? The Conservative announcement proposed what amounts to a rewards system with the opportunity to give rebates which can be applied to specific purchases. While some see this as an encouraging step by a political party which has been reluctant to acknowledge the climate emergency most commentators suggest that it is an odd approach which would not be as effective as the one which already exists. Some say that it is gimmicky and would be difficult to implement, and it sure looks that way.

Conservative leader Erin O"Toole may be making an earnest effort here, but he has bigger problems. At the recent CPC convention the delegates defeated a resolution which contained the words “we recognize that climate change is real. The Conservative Party is willing to act.” How is this possible in 2021? 

As a Christian I am convinced that all creatures are paying a terrible price for ignoring the climate crisis. The scientific consensus is that we have reached a tipping point for climate warming and species extinction.  We are undermining the integrity of Creation by our actions and inaction.. 

I am not partisan in my politics. I did not vote for the Liberals in the last election because they are not addressing the urgency of what it is the even greater pandemic of our time. This said, the "reward miles" program the Conservatives have proposed just isn't up to the challenge either. We do need governments at every level that will act decisively for this crucial moment and for the benefit of future generations. We must all do better, and act with courage.God help us all.