Letters: Taxing gas and heat ineffectual

In the early 1970s, there was no recognition or help for those of us suffering domestic abuse. I was an immigrant with young children, my extended family was in the U.K., and because I had no personal income, I had no choice but to live with it.

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Taxing gas and heat ineffectual

Re: “Climate change strategy taxing for Albertans,” editorial, Nov. 23

Missing from analysis of the NDP’s Climate Leadership Plan is the inconvenient truth that heating and transport fuels are price inelastic. This means large increases in the prices of gasoline, diesel and natural gas produce only small reductions in demand.

Long-term price elasticity coefficients for gasoline, for instance, vary from study to study, but fall within the range of -0.3 to -0.7. That means a seven-per-cent increase in the price of gas (the proposed seven-cent-a-litre carbon tax corresponds to seven per cent at current prices) could be expected to yield a reduction of demand in the range of between two and five per cent over a period of years.

A potential five-per-cent reduction in gasoline consumption is not nothing, but it is hardly earth-shattering. And the prospect of a significant decrease in the use of natural gas, which is even less responsive to price changes, is even more remote.


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Given the economic properties of these fuels, a carbon tax of the magnitude proposed by the NDP will have little impact on consumption. It will, however, generate lots of revenue and lots of positive media. One can be excused for thinking that perhaps that was its real purpose.

Jonathan Skrimshire, Pincher Creek

No electricity left to keep the lights on

The Notley energy policy, which just copies a failed Ontario Liberal policy, will devastate Alberta.

Ontario signed agreements that gave a Korean company the right to build wind turbines in exchange for allowing them to charge Ontario taxpayers outrageous energy prices far above market rates for many years. Wind turbines produce no more than nine per cent of Ontario’s energy. Businesses that can no longer afford Ontario’s expensive energy are closing or leaving and taking all their jobs with them.

This energy policy will cripple Alberta, discourage investment, kill jobs and make it more expensive for taxpayers to live here. When our current power plants are closed and wind power comes up short, we may not even have the electricity to keep the lights on.

Chris Robertson, Fort Saskatchewan

Look to the failures of Ontario

So we in the West hurt our economies and livelihoods for some ivory-tower ideal — while the rest of the world continues to pollute unabated.

Canada can disappear off the face of the world tomorrow, and the carbon footprint saved would be a drop in the bucket. By the way, carbon/environmental taxes don’t do anything for the environment, they just raise cash for highly inefficient government schemes. Just ask Ontario.


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P.M. Zupan, Edmonton

Climate response has to be balanced

Re: “Suzuki, Klein make easy scapegoats,” Letters, Peter Adamaski, Nov. 23

The letter writer misrepresents Gary Lamphier’s position: The columnist does not state that he is against action against climate change, he just wants the action to be responsible for all concerned. That means taking into account the loss of well-paying jobs, a decrease in government revenues and making our industries less competitive.

Naomi Klein, David Suzuki and similar crusaders are focused on the ideology of climate change. From their well-paid lives, they have little interest in how their crusade affects the average Canadian.

Gerhard Henkemans, Edmonton

Nothing wrong with free enterprise

The ongoing controversy surrounding Uber gives me pause: Whatever happened to free enterprise? If Uber has a better, more cost-effective way of serving the public, so be it!

A while ago, Verizon wanted to expand their business base to Canada. It would have meant great savings for cellphone users, and likely better service. Verizon’s Canadian counterparts ran obscenely expensive ads, ensuring the upstart American company couldn’t gain a foothold.

The losers in all of this? Canadians and their bank accounts. Let’s all demand that free enterprise remains alive and well.

Russell K. Young, Edmonton

Catholic board showed cowardice on issue

As an Edmonton Catholic School District student, I’m disappointed in my board. Why is it so difficult to accept students for who they are? Trustee Larry Kowalczyk’s comments regarding LGBTQ+ people were nauseating. Also, it was regrettable that Trustee Marilyn Bergstra’s motion — to have Catholic school board policy offer all the same protections as the public school board — was shot down.


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The district met the minimum requirements, rather than shooting for the A+ and taking a leadership role. The Catholic board did the equivalent of a student walking in to do a test and aiming to only get 50 per cent. Such cowardice!

I’d like two things to come out of the next board meeting: the adoption of amendments Bergstra put forward at the previous meeting, and the resignation of Kowalczyk for refusing to apologize for comments linking trans people to “mental disorders.”

Dylan Chevalier, Edmonton

Inflammatory headline does grave disservice

Re: “Carson compares refugees to ‘dogs’,” Nov. 20

I found this headline inflammatory. What Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said is that U.S. authorities must be vigilant to screen out the “mad dogs” among the Syrian refugees who may seek to do harm. He never said all refugees are mad dogs. Carson also said his country must “balance security needs against humanitarian impulses.”

We are facing an enemy who is blinded with hatred, who’s driven by twisted ideology and whose brutality is beyond imagination.

Ling Wong, Edmonton

Concerns over absorbing refugees ill-founded

Many of your recent letters have expressed concern over our country’s ability to absorb 25,000 Syrian refugees. These writers are obviously ignorant of Canada’s current immigration policy.

Since 2001, total immigration to Canada has averaged about 250,000 per year, of which a significant number are refugees (people escaping persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment). In 2010, we accepted approximately 25,000 in this latter category, so I see no serious difficulty settling another 25,000 refugees over the next few months.

Art Davison, Edmonton

Biting off more than we can chew

Re: “Canada’s interests should come first,” Letters, Trevor Myler, Nov. 23

The letter writer is 100-per-cent correct in predicting what we have to look forward to when the refugees become disgruntled with life in Alberta/Canada. Also, how are we going to support these families of six, seven or eight?

We are biting off more than we can chew.

Hilda Green, Edmonton