When it comes to energy and the environment, it is sometimes worth listening to the Canadian Conservatives.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Because the solution to our problems is often the exact opposite of what they offer. This is the case with the current spike in gasoline prices stemming from the economic sanctions imposed on Russia.
Let us agree: we will not make the inhabitants of Mariupol or Kyiv cry with our bills at the pump. Among all the consequences of this insane war led by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, we are far from talking about the most tragic.
But for Canadians, it is perhaps the most concrete.
With a liter of gasoline approaching $2, filling up can cost up to $200. It hurts the wallet. Especially since this increase is likely to affect the price of food, plane tickets and other consumer goods, while inflation was already worrying.
The Conservatives, led by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, are taking advantage of the context to bring out their old hobbies. They want to abolish the carbon tax, revive the Canadian oil industry, develop pipelines.
At first glance, their proposals seem logical. If the gas bill is already heavy, it is better not to increase it further with a tax, is not it? And why not offset Russian oil, which no longer reaches the markets, with Canadian oil?
The catch is that putting a price on carbon and reducing oil production are the pillars of an absolutely crucial energy transition for the future of the planet. The alarming new IPCC report reminded us of this again brutally last week.
This transition must be carried out gradually and coherently. It cannot be called into question with each jolt in the price of oil, however pronounced it may be. Listening to the Conservatives would be like changing the course of a ship based on the waves on the ocean. Good luck getting somewhere sailing like this.
The Conservatives have always had a grudge against the “carbon tax”, a price that the federal government imposes on provinces that have not already set one. It affects Ontario and Alberta in particular, but not Quebec, which has its own carbon market.
1er April, this price will increase from $40 to $50 per ton, which will translate into a rise at the pump of 2.32 cents. Compared to the jump of 30 cents experienced over the past week, this is quite minor.
Above all, the Conservatives omit to say that this money is returned to citizens through their tax returns. The carbon tax therefore does not reduce purchasing power. It is simply intended to encourage Canadians to make greener choices.
Now let’s think about what happens when you pay $200 at the pump. Your money will directly enrich the oil companies, which benefit greatly from current prices. And, unlike the federal government, they return nothing to you.
Pierre-Olivier Pineau, energy expert at HEC Montreal, thinks the time is right for Canada to stop subsidizing its oil industry, as demanded by the OECD and the International Energy Agency. We are talking, according to some estimates, of several billion dollars annually.
“No one is going to cry over the fate of the industry when the barrel is over US$100. If we don’t remove these tax advantages now, when will we do it? “, he asks.
Part of the funds saved could precisely be redirected to vulnerable households who are suffering the repercussions of the rise in the price of oil.
The sudden surge in the price of black gold should convince us to accelerate the energy transition. Not to relaunch oil production in a frantic and hasty fashion.
The infrastructures that would be built today to respond to an economic situation would have to operate for decades to amortize their initial costs. This is the case of the Bay du Nord project in Newfoundland, about which the Trudeau government is slow to get involved. War should not be used as an excuse to allow it.
This war will leave its share of horrible scars on the planet. With all due respect to the Conservatives, we really do not need to add more.