The Trudeau government’s decision to pause the carbon tax on home heating oil may be the right thing to do, but there can be little doubt it’s being done for the wrong reason.
Up until just before the prime minister stood - flanked by his Atlantic MPs to announce he was doing it - some of those same MPs were turning blue in the face explaining why it couldn’t be done. It wouldn’t be fair to Canadians who use other fuels to heat their homes, which it isn’t, and it would be like making pollution free again. Not free, but certainly cheaper.
The right reason to suspend the tax is that so many people are having trouble making ends meet - people in every province. But that was true a year ago, and six months ago when we were being told why it couldn’t be done. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the Liberals’ polling numbers in Atlantic Canada. They are tanking. And that’s the main reason for the policy retreat. Politics. It could backfire.
While some financially-strapped voters may express their gratitude by returning to the Liberal fold, I suspect many more will see this as the worst kind of rank opportunism.
Others who support the carbon tax will be offended by the blatant cave in.
Still, others who support suspending the tax may be even more inclined to vote for a party and candidates that want to do so permanently.
