Rex Murphy: I entertain these questions because it seems a good idea that on the one, massive, central policy of the Liberal government, it would be desirable to have some space, some debating room, between the Opposition party and the government. It is especially interesting now that we have had Justin Trudeau’s announcement of the $170-a-tonne tax on carbon dioxide by 2030, and can by no means be certain it won’t go much higher than that. The Liberals adapt their goals to their opportunities. We were told, after all, the tax would never go higher than $50 a tonne after 2022.
Now Mr. O’Toole and the Conservatives may come out against this particular tax. Indeed, they have done so. But far more consequential is their intellectual or ideological position on apocalyptic global warming itself. On that they appear to be perfectly aligned with the government they are presumed to oppose.
Here’s the ultimate question for O’Toole: Why is it necessary or laudable for Canada to pulverize its major resources, wound Canadian agriculture to its heart, and estrange an entire region of the Confederation for the sake of this vaporous, useless, and almost certainly never-to-be-realized dreamscape goal of zero emissions in Canada by 2050?
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