Start learning the deep details of the science and economics instead of letting extremists dictate what you’re allowed to think or say
Last year was the year the climate issue took a sharp turn towards extremism. Let’s hope 2020 is the year sanity makes a comeback. There have long been three groups occupying the climate issue. To avoid pejoratives, I will call them A, B and C. The A group are the doubters. They don’t believe greenhouse…
Roger Pielke Jr. was subjected to a vicious, well-funded smear campaign for raising legitimate concerns
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said the federal carbon tax, a key pillar in his government’s climate policy, will help protect Canadians from extreme weather. “Extreme weather events are extraordinarily expensive for Canadians, our communities and our economy,” he said, citing the recent tornadoes in Ottawa and wildfires in Western Canada. “That's why we need…
We know what a world without fossil fuels looks like – we used to live in it. It was cold, poor, dark, ignorant, starving and backwards
West Coast Environmental Law, an advocacy organization based in Vancouver, has persuaded a group of British Columbia mayors and city councillors to write threatening letters to major oil and gas companies. The letters demand the companies pay large arbitrary sums to compensate for a list of supposed harms associated with greenhouse gases from fossil fuel…
A Fraser Institute study evaluated the quantity and quality of Canada’s freshwater and discovered just a few areas of concern
By Ross McKitrick, Elmira Aliakbari and Ashley Stedman The Fraser Institute It’s difficult to imagine a resource more vital than clean water. It’s essential for human health and contributes to economic and social well-being. To help Canadians understand the status of our water resources, a recent Fraser Institute study evaluated the quantity and quality of…
The federal government is simply layering a carbon tax on top of a pre-existing and very inefficient mix of regulations
In the latest example of carbon-pricing confusion, the C.D. Howe Institute recently published a report that describes the federal carbon-pricing plan as “cost-effective” – while noting evidence that the overall policy mix is anything but. Since we don’t get to pick which policies bite, it’s important to see the carbon tax not in isolation but…
A Clean Prosperity report says Canadian households will be better off with such a plan. Looking at all the evidence suggests otherwise
Will households be better off under a carbon tax and dividend plan? A new report from Canadians for Clean Prosperity, a pro-carbon pricing advocacy group, claims they will, based on an analysis by David Sawyer of Enviroeconomics.org. It suggests that across income levels and provinces, households will pay less in carbon taxes than they receive…
Compare Canada’s performance with other countries on measures that matter most to the health of people and the ecosystem
By Ross McKitrick, Elmira Aliakbari and Ashley Stedman The Fraser Institute Despite misguided claims to the contrary, Canada has an excellent environmental record when compared to most of the world’s wealthiest – and cleanest – countries. A new study published by the Fraser Institute compares and ranks 33 high-income countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation…
A carbon tax added on top of the various bans, subsidies and tariff we already have in place only worsens regulatory inefficiencies
In the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership race, all four candidates hoping to replace Patrick Brown oppose carbon taxes, a centrepiece of Brown’s platform. The federal Conservative Party also opposes carbon taxes. Some commentators see this as a betrayal of Conservative free-market instincts because (supposedly) our choice is between inefficient bureaucratic regulation and the enlightened Liberal…
It's doubtful. Its plan to “improve” the NEB actually makes it more difficult and costly for business to navigate
By Kenneth Green and Ross McKitrick The Fraser Institute The federal government recently announced its plan to “improve” the National Energy Board. The language of the announcement is all “sunny ways,” promising to be all things to all stakeholders. But the promises are incompatible. The announcement says the new approval process for major energy projects will…
Ontario electricity rates for industry are among highest in North America, thanks to a series of bad government policy decisions
By Ross McKitrick and Elmira Aliakbari The Fraser Institute Ontario manufacturers are feeling the pinch from high electricity prices. But how high are the province’s industrial electricity rates relative to other jurisdictions? Ontario has the highest residential electricity costs of all Canadian provinces. Ontario electricity prices increased twice as fast as the national average over the past…