According to the Fraser Institute, while the federal Environment Minister says increasing the carbon tax from $30 per tonne to $170 by 2030 will have almost zero impact on the economy, it will actually have a significant impact. A study conducted by the Institute forecasts over 200 thousand jobs lost across the country; a massive $44 billion decline in GDP; high deficits – in the order of $24 billion annually – and high energy costs, with these increases falling disproportionately on lower income households.

In Saskatchewan, the institute says we can expect to see over 12 hundred jobs lost because of the federal government’s imposition of the tax. The biggest effect, in sheer numbers, will be felt in Ontario at nearly 99 thousand and Quebec at over 42 thousand.

While greenhouse gas emissions in this province are forecast to drop about 37 per cent, the effect on the GDP will be a drop of 2.2 per cent and real income per worker will drop 3.4 per cent; which, by the way, will be among the biggest hits in the country; higher event than in Alberta at 2.7 per cent.

The institute says Canada’s CO2 emissions are about 1.5% of the global total, and the government’s Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy plan would only reduce this by about one quarter, which means global emissions would not fall by much.