Thousands of Canadians gather nationwide to protest Trudeau’s carbon tax

From LifeSiteNews

“Continue the peaceful event until goals are achieved, regardless of duration,” the groups mission statement directed.

Canadians across the country have launched Freedom Convoy-styled protests against Trudeau’s carbon tax hike.

On April 1, thousands of Canadians took to the streets to protest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 23 percent carbon tax increase on the same day, with some blocking major highways in Maritime and Western provinces.

“This is a peaceful event aimed at uniting Canadians for a common cause & We will be holding the line indefinitely until our mission objective is achieved,” Nationwide Protest Against Carbon Tax, the group organizing the protest, wrote on its website.

“Join us in this steadfast commitment to ensure our voices are heard and our goals are realized,” it continued. “Together, we stand for change.”

The protest aimed to cause interprovincial border strikes on highways across Canada. The guidelines requested that protestors keep at least one center lane open for traffic.

“Continue the peaceful event until goals are achieved, regardless of duration,” the groups mission statement directed.

Therefore, beginning the morning of April 1, the Trans-Canada highway was partially blocked in certain areas as thousands of Canadians came out in protest of Trudeau’s carbon tax.

At the Nova Scotia–New Brunswick border, hundreds of cars and trucks lined up along the highway, causing Royal Canadians Mounted Police (RCMP) to eventually close the road and divert traffic to a secondary road.

WATCH: Here’s a look at carbon tax protesters lining Highway 1. Vehicles are slowing down and many are honking in support. #CarbonTaxProtest pic.twitter.com/z8YshQ6axA

— Rachel Emmanuel (@Emmanuel_Rach) April 1, 2024

“We’re going to be camping out. There’s no departure date, let’s put it that way,” organizer Elliot McDavid told independent media outlet True North at the Calgary protest.

WATCH: “There’s no departure date, let’s put it that way.”

Organizer Elliot McDavid says the group is waiting for traffic control signs to block the highway. He also says there’s no scheduled end date for the protest.#CarbonTaxProtest pic.twitter.com/ok68HOi5pZ

— Rachel Emmanuel (@Emmanuel_Rach) April 1, 2024

Another protest of around 500, this one along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, included a pancake breakfast, coffee, and a warming shack, according to True North.

Additionally, protesters gathered on Parliament Hill, in downtown Ottawa, chanting “Freedom” and waving Canadians flag.

Anti Carbon Tax protesters chant “Freedom” on Parliament Hill. pic.twitter.com/0LMF0WAOZM

— Élie Cantin-Nantel (@elie_mcn) April 1, 2024

Many compared the protests to the 2022 Freedom Convoy, which featured thousands of Canadians camping out in downtown Ottawa to call for an end to COVID regulations and vaccine mandates.

The protest come after Trudeau increased the carbon tax despite seven out of 10 provincial premiers and 70 percent of Canadians pleading with him to halt his plan.

Trudeau’s carbon tax, framed as a way to reduce carbon emissions, has cost Canadian households hundreds of dollars annually despite rebates.

The increased costs are only expected to rise, as a recent report revealed that a carbon tax of more than $350 per tonne is needed to reach Trudeau’s net-zero goals by 2050.

Currently, Canadians living in provinces under the federal carbon pricing scheme pay $80 per tonne, but the Trudeau government has a goal of $170 per tonne by 2030.

However, despite appeals from politicians and Canadians alike, Trudeau remains determined to increase the carbon tax regardless of its effects on Canadians’ lives.

The Trudeau government’s current environmental goals – which are in lockstep with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – include phasing out coal-fired power plants, reducing fertilizer usage, and curbing natural gas use over the coming decades.

The reduction and eventual elimination of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum, the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda in which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.

Related Topics:#CarbonTaxHike #CarbonTaxProtest #ClareMarieMerkowsky #JustinTrudeau #LifeSiteNews #NationwideProtestAgainstCarbonTax

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Alberta calling for federal election! Premier Smith demands feds scrap dangerous oil and gas production caps

Published on November 4, 2024

Government of Alberta

Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz and Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean issued the following statement on the proposed federal oil and gas production cap:

“This production cap will hurt families, hurt businesses and hurt Canada’s economy. We will defend our province, our country and our Constitutional rights.

“Make no mistake, this cap violates Canada’s constitution. Section 92A clearly gives provinces exclusive jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development yet this cap will require a one million barrel a day production cut by 2030.

“The evidence is overwhelming. Three reports from reputable firms have shown that these regulations will sucker-punch Canada’s economy, a million barrels cut every day according to S&P Global, $28 billion a year in lost GDP according to Deloitte, and up to 150,000 lost jobs according to the Conference Board of Canada.

“The losses to GDP mean billions a year will disappear from the economy. Billions that won’t be going towards new schools, hospitals and roads, all for a reckless ideological scheme that will not reduce global emissions.

“Ultimately, this cap will lead Alberta and our country into economic and societal decline. The average Canadian family would be left with up to $419 less for groceries, mortgage payments and utilities every month. Canadian parents and workers will suffer while Justin Trudeau outsources the duty to provide safe, affordable, reliable and responsibly produced oil and gas to dictators and less clean producers around the world. We could be the solution. Instead, Ottawa would rather sacrifice our ability to lead.

“Tweaks won’t work. This cap must be scrapped. Alberta’s government is actively exploring the use of every legal option, including a constitutional challenge and the use of the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act. We will not stand idly by while the federal government sacrifices our prosperity, our constitution and our quality of life for its extreme agenda.”

Energy

Ottawa’s plan to decarbonize Canada’s electricity by 2035 not feasible and would require equivalent of 23 Site C hydroelectric dams

Published on November 3, 2024

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Elmira Aliakbari and Jock Finlayson

The federal government’s plan to make all electricity generation in Canada carbon-free by 2035 is impractical and highly unlikely, given physical, infrastructure, financial, and regulatory realities. So says a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Canada’s federal government has set an ambitious, and, frankly, unrealistic target of achieving complete carbon-free electricity in ten years,” said Jock Finlayson, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of Implications of Decarbonizing Canada’s Electricity Grid.

The study finds that in 2023, nearly 81 per cent of Canada’s electricity came from carbon-free energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, wind and solar. But to replace the remaining 19 per cent which uses fossil fuels, in the next 10 years, would require constructing the equivalent of:

• Approximately 23 large hydroelectric dams, similar in size to BC’s Site C, or 24 comparable to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls, or;

• More than four nuclear power plants similar in size to Ontario’s Darlington power station, or 2.3 large scale nuclear power plants equivalent to Ontario’s Bruce Power, or;

• Around 11,000 large wind turbines, which would not only require substantial investments in back-up power systems (since wind is intermittent) but would also require clearing 7,302 square kilometers of land—larger than the size of Prince Edward Island—excluding the additional land required for transmission infrastructure.

Currently, the process of planning and constructing major electricity generation facilities in Canada is complicated and time-consuming, often marked by delays, regulatory challenges, and significant cost overruns.

For example, BC’s Site C project took approximately 43 years from the initial planning studies in 1971 to receive environmental certification in 2014, with completion expected in 2025 at a cost of $16 billion.

What’s more, the significant energy infrastructure listed above would only meet Canada’s current electricity needs. As Canada’s population grows, the demand for electricity will increase significantly.

“It is not at all realistic that this scale of energy infrastructure can be planned, approved, financed and built in just 10 years, which is what would be required merely to decarbonize Canada’s existing electricity needs,” said Elmira Aliakbari, director natural resource studies at the Fraser Institute and study co-author.

“This doesn’t even account for the additional infrastructure needed to meet future electricity demand. Decarbonizing Canada’s electricity generation by 2035 is another case where the government has set completely unrealistic timelines without any meaningful plan to achieve it.”

This essay examines the implications of decarbonizing Canada’s electricity grid by replacing existing fossil fuel-based generation with clean energy sources.
In 2023, clean energy sources—including hydro, nuclear, and wind—produced 497.6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, accounting for nearly 81% of Canada’s total supply, while fossil fuels contributed 117.7 TWh (19.1%). To replace this fossil fuel generation with hydro power alone would require about 23 large projects similar to BC’s Site C or 24 like Newfoundland & Labrador’s Muskrat Falls. Using nuclear power would necessitate building 2.3 facilities equivalent to Ontario’s Bruce Power or 4.3 similar to Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.
The process of planning and constructing electricity generation facilities in Canada is complex and time-consuming, often marked by delays, regulatory hurdles, and significant cost overruns. For example, the BC Site C project took approximately 43 years from the initial feasibility and planning studies in 1971 to receive environmental certification in 2014, with completion expected in 2025 at a cost of $16 billion.
Land requirements for new electricity generation facilities are also significant; replacing 117.7 TWh of fossil fuel-based electricity with hydro power, for instance, would need approximately 26,345 square kilometers, nearly half the size of Nova Scotia.
The slow pace of regulatory approvals, high and rising costs of major energy projects, substantial land requirements, and public opposition to project siting all cast doubt on the feasibility of achieving the necessary clean electricity infrastructure in the coming decade to fully replace fossil fuels in Canada.