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Letters  

Canada a bigger polluter

Re. Joe Gluska’s letter Carbon Tax paid, passed on (Castanet, May 20)

Joe Gluska states in his letter: "Canada, being the 76 most populous country in the world, has minimal, if any, impact on climate (change)."

A cursory bit of research (by that I mean literally the first result of a Google search) is all it takes to show that Canada is the 10th highest emitter on the planet.

Our share of emissions in 2018 (the latest year for which stats are available) was 1.5% of the world's total emissions.

Our share of emissions has decreased over time only because of the significant growth of rapidly industrializing nations such as China (No.1) and India (No. 4). But our actual output has increased by approximately 10,000 megatonnes since 2005.

I'm not sure how one draws a link between our population and our emissions. As an industrialized country, with significant oil and gas extraction, and our geography requiring us to consume fossil fuels throughout our winters, it's a non-sequitur.

Yes, our emissions are certainly less than that of the largest polluting countries, but this is a case of a collective responsibility for all of us to work towards a better future for our planet. It's the only one we have.

Nobody enjoys paying taxes. I think we can all agree they're a necessary evil, the so-called "entry fee" into civil society that helps fund government initiatives like the Canada Child Benefit, OAS, health care, and the other features of Canada's social safety net.

I agree that government has a responsibility to use our tax dollars wisely, and combating climate change is an example of that.

Richard McAdam, Kelowna



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