Emissions for the poor, tax breaks for the wealthy

The Harper government is sometimes accused of favouring the rich while ignoring the poor – even cozying up to wealthy oil barons at the expense of regular Canadians.

It would be nice if Harper could say it wasn’t so. Unfortunately, there’s enough evidence in the climate change file alone to make the case.

Soon after coming to office, the Harper government abruptly eliminated a $500 million program, the Energuide for Low Income Households, designed to help poor families do home retrofits to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In stark contrast, the government’s last budget effectively assured wealthy oil and gas corporations that all of the federal tax breaks they currently enjoy, amounting to about $1.4 billion each year, would remain in place until at least 2010.

Read the entire story here:

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/306147