1. Fossil fuel companies are the real drivers behind escalating prices.
2. The carbon price on heating oil increased by only 12 cents a litre as the average price for heating oil shot up 75 cents.
3. The carbon pricing system has two parts: a regulatory charge on fossil fuels like gasoline and natural gas (the fuel charge) and a performance based system for industries, known as the Output-Based Pricing System.
4. All the money is given back from the carbon price. 80% of Canadians under the federal policy are better off financially, thanks to quarterly rebates, with low and midde-income families benefitting the most.
5. Included in the announcement to remove the carbon tax from home heating oil was an expanded program to help households switch from oil to electric heat pumps.
6. Households that swap oil heating for cold-climate heat pumps typically save up to $2,500 annually on their energy bills.
7. Heat pumps
8. Canada’s carbon pricing system is a market mechanism that former prime minister Brian Mulroney used to address acid rain.
9. It is clear that given the record revenues being won by fossil fuel companies by wars and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), it is time for an oil and gas windfall tax to more rapidly accelerate the transition to cheaper, cleaner energy.
(excerpted from The Energy Mix, Bonasia, November 6, 2023)
For more information, see the Government of Canada overview of carbon pollution pricing.
