Sorry to interrupt your peaceful, smoke-free summer, but the dark clouds of confusion and contradiction gathering on the horizon are the first signs of a looming federal election.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set the tone at a recent $1,500-a-plate party fundraiser in Vancouver, after his official business of announcing partial funding for 10 new electric buses for Victoria 鈥� in 2021. Yes, the prime ministerial jet, motorcade and all that were deployed across the country to announce the latest bold move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At the swanky dinner, Trudeau pledged to avoid divisive and negative politics, and warned about those bad Conservatives who are fighting his national carbon tax.
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario are headed for the Supreme Court of Canada in an effort to set their own policies. Not B.C. though. The John Horgan NDP government is battling Trudeau鈥檚 oil pipeline project, but not his $20-per-tonne minimum national carbon tax.
B.C.鈥檚 carbon tax is already twice that high, and Horgan鈥檚 NDP is currently in favour of raising it more, while at the same time grilling petroleum companies about the rising cost of gasoline.
鈥淗ere in B.C., you really matter,鈥� Trudeau assured well-heeled Liberal Party donors in his drama-teacher style. 鈥淵ou are a province of people who get it. Who understand that the way to positive growth is to invest in the environment.鈥�
With due respect to our dear leader, I doubt that B.C. residents 鈥済et it,鈥� if 鈥渋t鈥� is the logic of the federal government鈥檚 strategy to combat what is now ritually referred to as the 鈥渃limate emergency.鈥� I suspect this is one reason why Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna have been trying to change the channel to plastic bags and drinking straws.
Token bans on plastic items here are as unlikely to stop the vast outpouring of ocean pollution from rivers in China, India and Vietnam as a few electric buses are to stop the huge and increasing use of carbon-emitting fuels in Asia and around the world.
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Indeed, B.C.鈥檚 current $40-per-tonne carbon tax isn鈥檛 lowering emissions here. They have continued to increase since a recession-induced dip ended in 2010. Granted, per-capita emissions are declining, but that鈥檚 largely a result of urbanization and industrial struggles.
Here鈥檚 a sample of the international scene. Reuters news agency that China added 194 million tonnes of coal mining capacity in 2018, bringing its total capacity to 3.53 billion tonnes by the end of that year. To put that in perspective, Canada鈥檚 total coal production is about 63 million tonnes, meaning 颁丑颈苍补鈥檚 expansion for 2018 alone is more than three Canadas.
颁丑颈苍补鈥檚 People鈥檚 Daily reported last week that its Menghua Railway is due for completion in October. The country鈥檚 longest line at 1,837 km, it is dedicated to carrying 200 million tonnes of coal each year from Inner Mongolia to Jianxi in eastern China.
Menghua Railway, 颁丑颈苍补鈥檚 LONGEST coal transporting railway line, is expected to be put in operation in Oct. The 1,837-km railway will carry 200 million tonnes of coal annually from N China's Inner Mongolia to E China's Jiangxi.
鈥� People's Daily, China (@PDChina)
Closer to home, the Port of Vancouver reports that it shipped 37.6 million tonnes of coal in 2018, with India being one of the biggest markets. That鈥檚 mostly metallurgical coal, but thermal coal shipments to India started in 2018, after U.S. west coast ports refused to ship it.
As our federal election begins to unfold, you will hear about other unlikely plans from the Conservatives, NDP and Greens to meet Canada鈥檚 solemn 2015 commitment in Paris to reduce emissions. That鈥檚 the commitment developed by the Stephen Harper government that remains Trudeau鈥檚 target.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press Media. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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