It is a cold May in southwestern Ontario. Oh, well, its not like I’ve haven’t been here before. I just can’t wait for that 10-week period which comes annually in Canada when I don’t have to wear a coat.

Cold and wet we are used to in this country especially when it comes to spring time. A few years ago I was planting corn on April 25th and it was snowing so hard I could hardly see to drive. A few years later I hopped off the combine from picking corn, boarded a plane for Grande Prairie Alberta and got off to –40-degree temperatures. You’ve got to love this country.

We can kid each other all we want about cold in this country and how we can use a little bit of global warming. However, on the political front its pretty obvious the stage is being set to turn global warming in this country on its ear. Liberal leader and possibly future Prime Minister Stephane Dion is poised to introduce a “carbon tax” on carbon emissions if he gets elected. That my friends is serious business for Canadians.

In Canada we are way over due for a federal election. Minority governments in this country last on average 18 months. At the present time the Conservative government is 28 months old and will last at least until fall. So a carbon tax is not about to happen. However, with Stephane Dion set to announce Liberal policy, circumstances may come together either later this fall or next year if elected to bring a “carbon tax” to Canada. That’s the timeline, one in which most Canadians are exceedingly not ready or willing.

Think of a “carbon tax” as a tax on “pollution.” Think of it as a tax on emissions of carbon dioxide or some other greenhouse gas. The theory goes if we reduce carbon emissions, we save the planet, we reduce the effects of global warming, and the ice stays frozen in Nunavut.

In Canada many of us have been wondering about carbon seemingly forever. In November of 1999 I wrote the following about carbon and carbon sequestering.

“Clearly, it may be already on a fast track. Carbon markets are being designed in the United Kingdom on the Intentional Petroleum Exchange and in Australia. Major companies such as United Technologies, British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell have also committed to large reductions in their own greenhouse gas emission. This expansion is bringing new investments in technologies and research needed to monitor and standardize carbon measurement. As it stands now, the equipment and technology is available to measure the amount of carbon sequestered on your farm. Pricing carbon at $50/ tonne, only wets my appetite for those cheques to start rolling in. (DTN Under the Agridome Nov 18, 1999, as a Canadian farmer, I was waiting for the government to send me a cheque for sequestering my own carbon)

Needless to say in 2008, that $50/tonne figure doesn’t wash anymore. Surely like everything else the price of carbon has gone up. However, with Stephane Dion proposing a “carbon tax”, many Canadians will be running for cover. We love our lifestyle here, and nobody wants to point the finger at themselves. However what Dion is proposing is a tax on our “environmental behaviour”.

Anything or anybody, which pollutes would be taxed. You would think this would reduce taxes in other areas. Nonetheless at the end of the day the aim is to reduce carbon emissions, reduce global warming and stem climate change. When will this happen. It all depends on the political fortunes of Stephane Dion and his merry band of Liberals.

Mixing this proposal into the ethanol boogeyman and its effect on food prices going forward could be the ultimate Ph.D thesis. However, at this early stage all I think Canadians will hear is “Tax, Tax, Tax!” At every juncture going forward we’ll hear “Tax, Tax, Tax” from Stephen Harper. Stephane Dion might be one of the smartest men I’ve ever met, but the optics of this one will get out of control very quickly. I cannot see this being a winning formula for the Liberals or Canadian in general.

However, dissing the “carbon tax” doesn’t solve anything. The inconvenient truth is global warming is a reality and especially in the west we keep wasting energy, which continues the vicious cycle. At the end of the day “we need to do something!” Give Stephane Dion credit for having real guts on this issue. However, being right about a carbon tax doesn’t automatically get you elected. The challenge ahead is for everybody to do a little carbon soul searching.