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10/22/2008 08:14 AM
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Carbon Tax Suffers In Canadian Elections
SustainableBusiness.com News
Those who support the idea of a carbon tax as a simpler more effective alternative to a cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gases, were likely disappointed by the results of federal elections held in Canada last week.
Canada's Liberal Party campaigned on a Green Shift policy which proposed a wide-ranging carbon tax, which the party said would be offset by reductions in personal taxes. But voters apparently didn't buy it, as the party lost ground to the Conservative Party, headed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Although Harper's party failed to secure a clear majority, it increased its share of the popular vote and gained 16 seats in the federal parliament.
Also noteworthy: In the province of British Columbia, where the nation's first carbon tax was established on fuels earlier this year, Liberals lost significant support, as their share of the popular vote fell from 28% to 17%, a sign that provincial elections in the spring might not go well for B.C.'s Liberals.
For a more nuanced analysis of the factors affecting the vote and the prospect of a nationwide carbon tax, read "A Verdict on the Carbon Tax," in the Times Colonist and "How Not to Sell a Carbon Tax" from The Tyee.
In Related News...
Environmentalists have lost a legal challenge to force the Canadian government to abide by the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which Canada signed but has refused to implement.
Read the Reuters report.
