Maple Bay - You might have read the report that extreme weather cost Canadians a record $3.2 billion dollars in claims for 2013.
Canada is not on track to meet internal 2020 greenhouse gas emission targets, never mind the international targets.PM Harper said that longdelayed regulations on the oil and gas sector will be announced "over the next couple of years".Do Canadians want costly regulatory mechanisms? Regulatory mechanisms will substantially grow government size and thereby increase taxes. As well, regulatory mechanisms are not market-based. The government will have a lot of leeway to pick winners and losers in the energy sector depending on how the regulatory policies are written.Another carbon pricing mechanism is cap and trade. It is a free market solution but it will grow government size, too.As well, the trading component of cap and trade will make prices of commodities dependent on fossil fuels, including food and fuel, more volatile, thus potentially impacting people earning low incomes in a negative way.Carbon fee and dividend is an upstream tax and is levied at the well head or mine where fossil fuels are produced, or at the point of entry into our economy via imports.It is a non-partisan policy, created by citizens for citizens. Carbon fee and dividend is a market-based solution and that means the free market, not Ottawa, will choose the energy companies that will flourish in the 21st century. In comparison to regulation and cap and trade, carbon fee and dividend will barely grow government size. By returning the revenue from carbon fees back to citizens, there will be minimal tax burden on Canadians.Which carbon price would you choose, Duncan?Valerie RussellMaple Bay