Ontario PCs and the carbon tax
 

I don't get how an Ontario (or any) politician can promise to scrap something that their government would have no say in. We ARE getting carbon pricing, whether we like it or not; if the province does nothing, the fed steps in and takes care of it....and it then becomes a tax.

Secondly, don't we have cap and trade in effect in Ontario? That is the least like a tax out of all the options available...so do these PC candidates want to keep what we have now?

:blink:

Re: Ontario PCs and the carbon tax
 

I think the problem the PC leadership candidates have is that they have to appeal to the darkest and most rabid social and fiscal conservative recesses of the party faithful in order to get elected to the leadership; because of the shrunken timelines for the whole thing they will then only have a matter of a handful of weeks to try and walk back all their right-wing utterances in order to appeal to the centre ground in the provincial general election.

I would take anything any of them say in the leadership process- especially the two more moderate women, Elliott and Mulroney - with a truckload of salt. That other one, Tanya Granic Allen, I have a horrible feeling actually believes most of what she is saying. Considering the crap that comes out of her mouth, that's worrying. Ford, of course, would be a complete disaster for the provincial party (possibly even more so than Brown getting back up the greasy pole) as his appeal is very much to the "low-information" voter and he doesn't actually appear to have any policy positions of any sort on anything.

Whoever wins, and in the currently unlikely scenario that a victory in the PC leadership race catapults them to the Premier's office, they'll all maintain the status quo with cap & trade, as it's patently the most appropriate compromise between environment, industry, population and economy. FWIW I am putting my (virtual - wouldn't waste any real money on this) $5 on Christine Elliott as the least-worst option.

Re: Ontario PCs and the carbon tax
 

Just watched Granic-Allen getting grilled on CBC..she's doesn't have a clue.