Member of Parliament Shannon Stubbs, comments on the impact of the American Election on Carbon Tax
Lakeland, AB- Today the Official Opposition Deputy Critic for Natural Resources, Shannon Stubbs, MP for Lakeland, commented on the impacts of the American election results on Canada, and the Liberals’ plan to impose a federal, unilateral, Ottawa-knows-best carbon tax on every person and community across the country.
“Americans have elected a President who will support American energy development, plans to increase coal generated electricity and, just like his Democratic Presidential opponent, will not impose a carbon tax on the United States. Long Canada’s biggest energy customer, the US is transitioning rapidly into the biggest energy competitor, by removing their forty year ban on crude oil exports and ramping up shale oil development,” Stubbs said. “With the Republicans in control of Congress, the Senate, and the Presidency, it’s clear the United States will aggressively pursue American energy development and energy security. Now more than ever, Canada’s federal government must protect and enhance our own country’s competitiveness, diversify export markets for world leading, responsibly developed Canadian energy products, and develop policies that do not undermine our country’s role continentally, or internationally. I also hope the Prime Minister will begin working with the new President as soon as possible on moving Keystone XL forward, given the President’s supportive comments, and the broad based support for the project in the Senate and Congress that was built collaboratively under the previous federal Conservative government, further to the success of Keystone 1.”
“I believe that Canada should continue to develop its vast energy resources in a socially and environmentally sustainable way, for which our country already has a long track record as a world leader in environmental regulations, and in energy exploration, production, and transportation standards, technologies, expertise, and performance. The federal Liberals threaten Canada’s competitiveness, energy development, and long term prosperity through this harmful cash grabbing tax that has nothing to do with innovation, or environmental stewardship or conservation,” said MP Stubbs.
“Canadian policies must be developed in the global context, especially considering Canada accounts for 1.6 per cent of the world’s emissions. The federal government should stop punishing Canadian industries and hampering economic growth with policies that the rest of the world is rejecting – including all of the other top six oil and gas producing countries, and even socialist France,” said MP Stubbs. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims that Canada is leading the world on environmental issues. It’s time for the Prime Minister to start considering that nobody is following Canada on a carbon tax, because it’s not about the environment, it’s a massive, regressive tax hike; it’s big economic pain for no environmental gain.”
“I will continue to fight against a tax that will undermine Canada’s global competitiveness, harm Canadian workers, and disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable Canadians, and people in rural, remote, northern, and energy and agriculture based communities, at the very worst time,” Stubbs said. “I encourage all Canadians who oppose this punitive cash grab by the Liberal government to support, sign and share my petition to send a clear message to Ottawa.”