When you look at Andrew Scheer's plans for the environment, Stephen Maher writes, there's not much there. Consider what happened during this week's French language debate:
Moderator Pierre Bruneau asked Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer if he would cut a federal subsidy for electric vehicles as Doug Ford cut a provincial program when he took power in Ontario.
“We have assured Canadians that we will continue this program until the end of the schedule,” Scheer said. “But we must recognize another fact. The most popular vehicle in Quebec is the F-150. Quebecers are going to continue to buy gas. And I prefer, I have made my choice. I prefer our own gas to gas from the United States. It doesn’t make sense for money from Quebec to leave Canada for the economy of Donald Trump when we have reserves.”
But it really doesn't matter where the gasoline comes from. Gasoline is the problem. More important was Scheer's pivot from electric vehicles. Say what you will about the Liberals, they do have a plan to encourage electric transportation:
The 2019 Liberal budget, which included a $5,000 subsidy for every electric vehicle. Scheer’s plan says nothing about electric vehicles except for some happy talk about improving charging technology. [Moreover, they propose to] promote electric vehicles, including $130 million on a program to build charging stations, partly to fill in the gaps on the highway system so electric cars are more practical for long trips.
It's not a pipe dream. Consider what's happening in Norway:
In civilized Norway, plug-in electric vehicles have already overtaken gas burners. To encourage rapid uptake, Norway has offered electric motorists free parking, tax breaks, access to bus lanes and exemptions from road tolls. It is also easy to charge electric vehicles there. There are 7,632 charging stations. In massive Canada, there are only 5,841.
And then consider what happened when the Ford government was elected in Ontario:
The previous Liberal Ontario government offered rebates for electric vehicles and had made changes to the building code that would have required that new homes be built with 200-amp panels, so that it would be cheaper and easier to fit them with electric vehicle charging stations. Home builders objected, complaining that the change would add $500 to the price of each new home, so in May the Ford government quietly removed those requirements from the building code, which means that it will be much more expensive to refit buildings later to install charging stations.
Graham Inglis, who runs a Mississauga company that installs charging stations, says it typically costs $1,500-$2,500 to upgrade electrical service after a home is built, so the changes to the building code don’t make sense. “It’s a short-term solution that might not have the home owner’s long term interest in view,” he said in an interview on Friday. “It might save them a little bit of money now, but in the end they’re going to need a service upgrade.”
Ford’s changes to the building code do nothing to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. But Ford went further than that:
The Ford government also killed Ontario’s cap-and-trade system and cancelled contracts for renewable energy, including a nearly finished $100-million wind project in Prince Edward County, at an as-yet-unknown cost.
We live in Prince Edward County. And, at the beginning of the month, the task of taking down the windmills got underway.
There are all kinds of falsehoods being spread in this election. The choice will not be easy. But, when it comes to Andrew Scheer's commitment to the environment, the choice seems pretty clear.
Image: Consumer Reports
6 comments:
The current iteration of the Con Party is owned by the oil and gas industry. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that, Owen. Also consider that Jason Kenny is hovering and actively working in the background just waiting for Scheer's fall from Harper grace, so that he can dump Alberta and take over Canada.
With this cast characters, you can never sit back, relax, and declare "move on people, there's nothing to see here".
There's plenty to see here, Lulymay. And it's in plain sight.
Jason already has tons of baggage. And now he's crossed a line and has begun to add Trump's gaslighting tactics to his routine. Let's hope that some ambitious journalist comes along who's equipped to write the book on him now before the imbeciles in this country allow him to become even more dangerous. It shouldn't be too hard. A lot of it is sitting right there in Hansard. His dissembling has been so outrageous and the photo gallery and recorded interviews so telling, that the comedy could almost write itself. And moreover, given the attention that Justin has attracted from outside the country and the reputation we've acquired for producing comedians, it might even have the potential to become an international best-seller.
Jason is a political opportunist, John. His history makes that abundantly clear. But, for some reason, that history has been flying underneath the radar.
So because Quebecers like to drive F 150's Scheer doesn't think they would ........
Never did think Scheer was that smart, but they are working on an electric F-150. Ford has worked at making it lighter to make it more fuel efficient, so you can bet they'll have an electric F-150 on the market within a few years.
In my opinion Scheer is one of those religious nut bars. It isn't about this earth, its the after life. For those who think the "real" event is the after life don't expect them to care much about this life or this earth. Some believe god isn't going to let it all go to rack and ruin and then there are those who believe those who "believe" will be "save" in the rapture.
Scheer and his ilk, in my opinion, are bought and paid for by the oil/gas/financial elite and there are always people who think those will look after them if they're faithful enough. Some are even dumb enough to think those corporate types know what is best.
Yes, Jason, is hoping Scheer fails so he can run as the new leader of the Cons. It will be really to bad if Rona Ambrose comes back and takes a run at it also. Perhaps by then the RCMP will have finished their investigation into how Jason "won/stole" the leadership of his party. Now that would be fun.
Despite the smile, e.a.f, it's pretty clear where Scheer's allegences lie.
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