A landmark report on the economic impact of meeting climate-change targets has run into a storm of opposition, with Western provinces calling it divisive and the federal government saying it would spell economic disaster.
“We would be extremely opposed to any kind of a carbon tax or some other kind of tax that would result in a significant wealth transfer from our province to any other province or area of the country,” said Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd.
Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice said there is no way Western Canadians could absorb the deep economic hit projected by the report’s environmentalist authors – the David Suzuki Foundation and the Pembina Institute.
He said their assumptions are way off: The long-term economic conditions they forecast will be avoided by working with the Americans on a continental climate-change plan.
“The conclusions [the report] draws are irresponsible,” said Mr. Prentice in an interview with The Globe and Mail from Kingston, where he was meeting with provincial and territorial environment ministers. Specifically, he said Canadians will not accept the report’s advocacy of emission targets for 2020 that would reduce Canada’s gross domestic product by 3 per cent nationally and 12 per cent in Alberta from business-as-usual estimates.
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Updates:
1:44 pm EDT, October 30th, 2009 — Carbon report’s bloody portent
2:01 pm EDT, October 30th, 2009 — Gore Gone Wild: Predicts 220 Foot Sea Level Rise in 10 years
Given the numbers thrown around in the report, I expect to hear from my TD Bank soon that I now am required to up my equity position on outstanding loans, on top of higher interest rates for the loan. And how about some insurance on those loans, too. Good move, Don.
I think that I’ll shop around for another financial institution other than any of those headquartered at King & Bay. I think that westerners should just pull all their money out of TD for starters, including Waterhouse and TD Insurance. Yeah, how about a little run on TD bank, eh? Send that “Ed” a message, too. That’s Ed Clark, CEO of TD Bank.
I’m going to get my licks in early, today.
Ed Clark is known as “Red Ed” of Trudeau fame. He was the civil servant that implemented the National Energy Program for that Liberal government. Do you think that Don Drummond is a Liberal, too? I guess so, didn’t he work at Finance under Paul Martin?
Notice the disclaimer by TD Bank in this report, apparently they don’t endorse the “opinions” stated. Sure, guys.
I wonder if this isn’t more about politics than actually seriously thinking theres any way this is going to fly . Now politicians in Quebec and Ontario can point at this and start the usual mantra about the eveil Stephen Harper and his evil conservatives protecting the evil tar sands at the expense of Quebec and Ontario. And I think it’s time to pull what interests I still have out of tdcanada trust . Drummonds doing too much liberal propaganda for me too continue dealing with them .
I am in the middle of drilling one of those eeeeeevil “dirty” hydrocarbon wells, out here in Alberta. A “dirty” gas one. Yes, I’m one of the lucky ones still working. I am a sizeable customer of TD Bank/Waterhouse/Insurance, both on the personal and corporate side of things. I will post the letter that I am drafting to TD regarding our future financial relationship with them, later today or tomorrow as I think this story will have some legs. I’m sure of that as I viewed some of the comments on CBC and CTV regarding this issue. I could feel the love from central Control, I mean Canada.
Good for you, jt. Good job.
Instead of punishing Canadians and the companies we work for by taxing us until we are out of work, why don’t Suzuki and his cohorts become entrepeneurs, and start up the profitable green industries they claim will offer Canadians better job opportunities?
Well, let’s be realistic here. David Suzuki lives in Kitsilano, a suburb just down the road from UBC in Vancouver. Kitsilano beach is just a block or two away and only several steps down to the sand. He also owns property on Quadra Island in the Gulf Islands off Vancouver Island. If Dave was really worried about globull warming or climate change and sea level rise, then why would he own these properties? Besides that, he lives in an active earthquake zone and the next tsunami might just wipe him from the face of the earth. (I can dream)
Good idea re TD holdings jt. I have a pretty good chunk with TD Waterhouse, that another brokerage would be more than happy to have.
Has anyone itemized the threats etc that Gore made in his movie, with actual events since it was made. Does he know that in the North, polar bear patrols are out on Oct 31, to protect kid.
the 2007 Nobel laureate effectively predicted that by 2020, the oceans could rise 220 feet and 6,700,000,000 people will be forced to wander the planet in search of a less soggy domicile.
Yeah whatever Al. So what does he do, he went out an bought himself a $4M condo right on the ocean (sea level) close by to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Franciso.
A ‘Landmark Report’ by the Pembina Institute and the Suzuki Foundation! – only the dummies at the Globe would give these two organizations that much credibility, who are they kidding? it’s biased fantasy at best, they have no idea how badly these proposed schemes would damage the economy.
And it would be interesting to know how much money the government takes from us and gives to them in order to have them tell us we need more government.
It has been mentioned here and other places that both gore and suzuki have property by the sea/ocean/lakes or whatever. And they predict a huge rise in sea levels.
My son explained this, they are probably taking out flood insurance for double the value of their property and expect to get paid when the rise happens.
Good point, Mary T re the value added flood insurance. Susuki here in Canada should reveal what his arrangements are for his ocean front properties.
In the Gore link above it’s stated that 6.7 billion people (total planet population) will be displaced by floods in the next decades. Shipbuilding anyone?
jt, you’re excellent at the accounting. In the so-called landmark report the Alberta graph says the provinces gdp will shrink by some 8 odd percent, while I saw one gov’t projection at 13 percent. Now, how were the fluctuations in the price of oil and gas accounted for over the projected time. Bottom line, they couldn’t be and that’s one classic boogaboo, all hallow’s eve PHONY report in the first place. To be noted as a ‘bullroar baffles brains’ concoction. Not worth the time expended to read the whole thing. Merkel of Germany is not holding out for any progress at Copenhagen and no wonder. Look to the wide discrepancy in the projected figures. The Green jobs simply revolve around clean up the messes from the industrial polluters and focus needs to shift there if it’s not too late. It well may be too late.
Somebody please tell me what a Green job is.
Truth is it’s complete fiction, Mary. Especially the wage rates attached to them. The green jobs could only and exclusively apply to the clean up agenda. Like where to put the industrial waste poured into our water reservoirs and at what nominal cost to the enterprise. Or those operating the smoke-stack scrubbers. Good point, list the job classifications and the wage scales, Drummond, Suzuki and Gore. Didn’t Obama hire light bulb installers somewhere? heh! Copenhagen promises to be a ‘good gas’ event!