Remember – Remember – the 5th of November – Carbon Tax Rally

Ralliers believe the carbon levy will have a negative impact on investments, consumer confidence and jobs not only in Alberta, but across Canada.

“To use our Premier’s words to her NDP supporters, they believe they’re right, we’re wrong and nothing’s going to stop them. It seems a very heavy-handed position,” said Davey Wiggers, Lethbridge rally organizer. “We’re not against the environment. We’re not extremists. We’re reasonable people, but when we have questions, we expect them to be answered.”

Many of those questions go unanswered.

During a media scrum on Friday, Environment Minister, Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips, was asked about the next day’s rally.

“You know, I think it’s fair that people have questions and, ah, it may be that not everyone realizes that we are also reinvesting the money in lowering the small business tax, for example, ah, the rebates to two-thirds of Albertans, ah, the significant investments in efficiency, ah low flow shower heads, LED light bulbs, all of those things for yours and my home – all of those kinds of things will be flowing through, as we reinvest the carbon levy – and the other thing is that the opposition are saying a lot of mistruths and engaging in a lot of counter factual, ah, politics and you know, that’s become very fashionable south of the border and apparently they’ve imported a lot of those tactics.

At Saturday’s rally, Wiggers noted that Phillips was invited to attend the rally to offer comment and answer questions. However, she declined.

Phillips has repeatedly noted that her government went through a several months process review and consultation and went to several different communities to talk about the carbon levies. However, many don’t see that short period of review as enough to back-up the need or process for a carbon levy.

One of the speakers at Saturday’s rally was agronomist Clive Schaupmeyer who pointed to a comment by Phillips.

“Shannon Phillips said on September 14th, what we know about renewables is that they lower the price for consumers.”

However, Schaupmeyer stated that global evidence has proven the opposite.

“Some very, very good statistics from Euro-Stat and other organizations show that the more renewables in an electricity system, the higher the prices. Did you know that since Ontario started their climate plan seven years ago, consumer prices have doubled?”

Schaupmeyer noted that Germany spent roughly $200 Billion on renewables but, still gets 40 percent of its electricity form coal and that country opened a brand new coal plant one year ago.

“We’re closing them, and they’re opening them, and instead of learning from the failures of Ontario and Germany and other European countries, we’re sliding down the same slippery slope, as they are trying to claw their way out of it.”

With 6300 megawatts of power being produced by coal, Schaupmeyer called Alberta’s coal fired plants the backbone of our electrical system. He noted that last year, Alberta’s coal plants produced at 85-per cent of capacity, while wind energy can only produce at 28 to 32 per cent of capacity. It means wind farms are producing only about one third of the time.

While the NDP government has touted coal fired plants are producing dirty emissions, Schaupmeyer provided stats which indicate that shutting them down will only reduce the province’s carbon emissions by one to three per cent, while spending billions of dollars on renewable projects. He also offered stats which debunk the NDP contention that coal fired plants are impacting health by stating the government’s claims are based on models and speculation, and offered up letters from Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous to confirm that modelling studies, and not facts, were used to underpin claims that coal fired plants impacted the air quality in Lethbridge.

When he went looking for statistics to back up coal plants as impacting health, Schaupmeyer found “Alberta Health’s own statistical information proved they’re (NDP) utterly wrong.”

“Alberta Health keeps statistics on 152 zones in Alberta, and guess what has happened to asthma in the last decade? It’s either stable, or gone down.”

“The Alberta government also measures air quality, and at 9:00 this (Saturday) morning, across the entire province the air quality was pristine – it was basically zero risk to our health, anywhere in the province, including the city of Edmonton.”

One of the other speakers at the Lethbridge rally was Paul Hinman, the former MLA for both Cardston-Taber-Warner and Calgary-Glenmore.

Hinman has long supported the need to have recall (of elected individuals) legislation in the province, for when Albertans don’t believe their concerns are being taken seriously. However, without it, he sees the rally, protests and petitions as the only resort available to the electorate.

“I’ve been beside Rachel (Notley) in the house many times when she brought petitions about concerned Albertans about what needed to be changed, and spoke very adamantly – we need to be listening to these petitions – well, I hope, Rachel, that you’re paying attention Premier, and look at these petitions going in there.”

Hinman went on to encourage concerned Albertans, to phone, email and write their elected officials, about their concerns and talk to friends to do likewise.

More information about the carbon tax referendum can be found on the group’s web site

According to government information, gas prices will jump 4.5 cents per litre on January 1, 2017. Diesel will go up 5.4 cents a litre and natural gas will increase by $1.01 per gigajoule. One year later, more increases. The levy will take in 6.7 cents per litre on gasoline, eight cents per litre on diesel and $1.51 per gigajoule for natural gas.

by Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Remember – Remember – the 5th of November – Carbon Tax Rally

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