Re: “Support for B.C.’s carbon tax continues to grow,” Dec. 20.
Like most Canadians, I usually just say “Baaaaaa” and carry on with the rest of the flock.
But the letter from our Environment Minister Terry Lake was too much. He says the majority of British Columbians support the carbon tax.
Garbage! I’d like to know who was surveyed and how big an example was used. The survey did not talk to anyone I know. Everyone I talk to sees the carbon tax as the most insidious tax we have. Not only does this tax cost us every time we fill up the family car, but every time we buy groceries or clothes or anything.
Everything we buy comes by truck at some point. Even our local producers have to deliver and have to purchase supplies. All of these products raise prices to cover their costs and the carbon tax is one of those costs. The real problem is that we pay this cost over and over and over. I suspect that the Environics Institute, which produced this survey, has its agenda. I have seen evidence that the carbon tax has had absolutely no effect on reducing the purchase of oil products.
To our environment minister I say, no matter how loud or how often you say something, that doesn’t make it true. If you want to change from carbon products then you need to encourage alternatives. Taxing doesn’t work if people don’t have a reasonable choice.
And please stop calling it “neutral.” It is costing us all every day.
Brian Cornall
Victoria
Enbridge panel has reason to be nervous
Re: “Pushing away the people,” Dec. 21.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway panel does not want spectators at their hearings for fear that the spectators may conduct themselves much like many of our MPs and MLAs.
Tom Bourne
Victoria
Carbon-tax stance seems oxymoronic
Re: “Support for B.C.’s carbon tax continues to grow,” Dec. 20.
It seems Environment Minister Terry Lake is involved in selling us an oxymoron.
While patting ourselves on the back for B.C.’s enviable carbon tax, we are contemplating shipping natural gas to China, along with oilsands bitumen, while opening up more coal holes to increase export revenues.
Hello, CO2, am I missing something here?
Barry Whiting
Sooke
Supersonic fighter jets not on every shelf
Re: “It’s merry Christmas when no one’s offended,” and “Cabinet ripe for reset after F-35 fiasco,” Dec. 18.
Naomi Lakritz never fails to bring to mind the phrase “The absurd generation,” but her article sits right below an opinion piece on the F-35, it also brings to mind that absurdity is not only evident when it comes to Christmas and the politically correct nonsense that always seems associated with it.
Michael Den Tandt writes: “There has to be a competition.” If he really believes that there’s a whole host of manufacturers out in the world somewhere that have a supersonic fighter tucked away in a shed and who are just champing at the bit to say, “Have we got a deal for you, Canada,” then he really must believe that Santa does come down the chimney, pipe and all.
Charles Reid
Victoria
Privatized debt bad for governments
Huge debts and crippling interest payments characterize most government budgets in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Five smaller European nations have already defaulted, two major ones teeter on the edge and the US frantically prints money. Regardless of size or political leaning, the fundamental factor common to all the states in trouble is the privatization of their debts.
In striking contrast, countries like China, India, Brazil and a score of south Asian and South American nations funding themselves seem unhindered by debt and interest problems. Norway and the state of North Dakota deserve some comment.
North Dakota has fully funded itself for 90 years, has run no deficit in the last 50, and has the lowest unemployment in the U.S. It always runs balanced or surplus budgets, and alone in the U.S. has no debt.
Norway, funding itself, has superb social programs, yet has built a $600-billion sovereign wealth fund. Canada is privately funded, has crisis-laden social programs and a $600-billion federal debt plus similar total provincial debts. All are still growing, none remotely payable.
Major crises demand radical solutions. Cancelling our interest-swollen debts (like Iceland) and reverting to Bank of Canada loan funding, as previously practiced for nearly 40 years, could reasonably direct some $60 billion a year into badly needed alternate energy developments, creating masses of long-term jobs while eliminating the pitiful urge for foreign investment in the oilsands — and saving rivers of water to boot.
Russ Vinden
Errington
Right to fair trial trumps religious freedom
Re: “Judge may order witness to remove face veil, divided top court rules,” Dec. 21.
The law cannot always accommodate the arguments of both sides in a legal dispute. When some landlords refused to rent their premises to tenants because of their race or religion, they argued they had the right to rent their own property to whomever they chose. Tenants argued that they were being denied accommodation because of discrimination. The law decided the tenant’s right not to be discriminated against trumped the landlord’s right to rent his property to whomever he chose. I think most Canadians have seen the wisdom of that.
Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada had to balance the issue of freedom of religion — in this case, the belief of some Muslim women that they must always wear a niqab in public, even when giving testimony in court — with the issue of ensuring that an adversary of that witness will have a fair trial. When people give evidence in court, judge and jury not only want to hear what the witness has to say but also how they are saying it. Judges get a sixth sense about the truthfulness of witnesses from their body language, of which their facial expressions are a good part.
The court dropped the ball in this case by leaving it up to individual judges to decide whether the niqab should come off or not. The argument of religious freedom being compromised should not trump the real possibility that someone will not have a fair trial because his adversary is allowed to keep her face covered.
Barry Gaetz
Victoria
