Canada

I know.

I know we can walk and chew gum at the same time and hold the government to account on climate measures.

Big caveat - it seems pretty tone deaf at the moment relative to the threats on our sovereignty.

I don’t see a path for Carney to be elected without getting rid of the tax, at least momentarily.

We do need to realize that not everyone is aligned with Stephen Guilbault on this issue. My big gripe is that there’s always been a lot of analysis and policy and talk but no actual plan to sell to the electorate in a way that will improve their lives without costing them exorbitant amounts of money.

For example, the electric car 2030 push. Seems good on paper. But, I frequently drive 5-6 hours to northern Ontario. No electric car is going to make it there without having to stop to charge for HOURS. So I’m doubling my travel time for what? A good quality EV is 30k+. Who has that kind of money for a product that is going to be less convenient? The solution would be to improve rail service and mass transport but have there been ANY plans to do that? No. This is why people get pissed off about climate policies. Because it’s a huge inconvenience and will massively disrupt their lives. Instead of the government doing things that actually help people in the face of this, we get paltry rebates and almost no supporting infrastructure.

I’m incredibly pro- climate measures but the government has to make things easier for people. The population is fucking tired and not receptive to more inconveniences that make their lives harder. The government needs to solve for that to get people onboard. I’m not talking discounts or rebates I’m talking FREE - free solar panels, free heat pumps. Cheap and affordable public long distance transit. The passenger train goes to my destination ONE time every week. That’s simply not enough. Requiring automakers to standardize charging inputs and somehow speeding up the charging. Charging stations at every gas station, yes, even in rural areas. It has to be better, cheaper, and more convenient than the status quo to get Canadians onboard.