![]() ![]() “It is a tool that’s recognized by governments around the world and is actually designed to help economists get over this problem - you know economists, the people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” Stewart said the PBO could have done its analysis using “the social cost of carbon.” ![]() ![]() “That’s like saying replacing your roof before you have a leak that collapses your ceiling is a bad investment.” “I thought the PBO was borderline dishonest in its presentation,” said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, saying it showed “a kind of economic blindness” to the costs of doing nothing, even as it said there may be benefits, but they cannot be quantified so therefore they would be ignored. And it did not account for the economic benefits that come with that, or with Canada adopting a stable carbon pricing plan in a burgeoning “green” economy where “clean” technologies are sought after by consumers, industry and governments alike. It did not account for the fact that carbon pricing works to lower carbon use and cut emissions (even though a previous PBO report said carbon pricing will reduce Canada’s emissions by 96 megatons in 2030). It did not account for the economic and environmental costs of climate change, or the cost of doing nothing. The PBO analysis infuriated environmental advocates and Liberal government officials who said it was simplistic. The PBO said “most households will see a net gain, receiving more in rebates from federal carbon pricing under the (government’s plan) than the total amount they pay in federal fuel charges (directly and indirectly).”īut the report went on to say that over the long term, once the higher carbon prices ripple through the broader economy and potentially have a negative impact on GDP and personal incomes, most households will see a “net loss” seven years out, even after federal rebates are taken into account, as the carbon price increases to $170 a tonne in 2030. The Trudeau government has long insisted the rebate means most affected Canadian households are not out of pocket, a fact that a parliamentary budget officer’s report last week confirmed. It’s paid to Canadian households in the provinces and territories that pay the federal fuel charge, and is meant to offset the hit of carbon pricing on fossil fuels like gasoline and natural gas. What you won’t hear much about, however, is how the Liberal government wants you to view the carbon levy rebate - which the Liberal government has branded as the “climate action incentive payment.” Not a catchy phrase. So for a while Monday, “grocery rebate” was trending on Canadian Twitter in part because about half a dozen other ministers also took to the grocery store aisles and posted photos to flood the political market. It’s an extra bit of cash, plain and simple, no doubt welcome as inflation on grocery bills hit 10.6 per cent in February, more than twice the 5.2 per cent of price inflation on other consumer goods. There’s no requirement that it be spent on groceries and no need to submit receipts. ![]() At $467 for a couple with two kids, it may cover the cost of two weeks’ of groceries. However “grocery rebate” - which gets 13 mentions in the budget document - is a bit of inflated political branding. On Monday, Trudeau strolled through the IGA Extra Famille Pelletier grocery store in Val d’Or, Que., talking to parents with toddlers, plugging the “grocery rebate” as a centrepiece of what the Liberal government is doing to “make life more affordable” - which, not coincidentally, was the slogan-of-the-day printed on the sign stuck to his podium. You’re probably going to hear a lot more about it as the post-budget blitz continues during this two-week parliamentary recess. “Grocery rebate” is catchier than “enhanced GST credit” - and a shiny bit of political marketing for a federal payment meant to offset the burden of the federal sales tax for an estimated 11 million Canadians. But what politician wants to go out in public and say that?Īnd with a new parliamentary budget officer report that left environmental activists and Liberal government officials fuming, the job got that much harder.įirst, the so-called “grocery rebate.” That’s how the Liberals rebranded a measure announced last fall - a doubling of the GST credit for lower-and-modest income families - that the 2023 budget proposes to extend for another six months. ![]()
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