In 2018, the federal government passed the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act - more accurately known as the carbon tax.

The tax started at $20 per tonne in 2019, rising by $10 per tonne each year until it reaches $50 per tonne in 2022.

This first carbon tax is unconstitutional, unfair, and ultimately also ineffective.

It is unconstitutional, as it is an intrusion into provincial jurisdiction by the federal government.

It is unfair, as it includes carve-outs for some provinces, such as Quebec, which will pay much lower rates per ton as a result.

It is also ineffective, as even the government's own calculations show that the carbon tax isn't priced anywhere near high enough to ensure it meets its goals.

In fact, leaked secret government documents reveal that the carbon tax would have to go as high as $300 per tonne to actually achieve anything!

Given how big of a failure the first carbon tax has been, then, it perhaps comes as no surprise that the federal government's response is to introduce a second carbon tax.

The second carbon tax's official Orwellian name is the Clean Fuel Standard regulations.

The Clean Fuel Standard regulations will be announced sometime in the next few days or weeks and be imposed starting later in 2021.

As per usual, the government is trying to claim that these regulations will only affect large energy companies and manufacturers and that they will create new green jobs!

Of course, we all know that families and individual consumers just end up paying these costs, which are passed down through the supply chain.

And yes, of course, government spending can create jobs in the specific area that the government spends the money in, but if the government creates fewer jobs than they destroyed, then on net, we're all much worse off!

In fact, the federal Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, is said to have requested an internal study to find out the "break point" - the point at which consumers and businesses would be forced to give up cheap energy and go along with the government's plan.

In other words, the government will set the price so high that businesses will be forced to comply in exactly the same way as if the government banned certain fuel types.

They are going to pretend they aren't actually introducing a "ban", they are using a "market mechanism" by "pricing" carbon, but the effect will be the same.

As reported by John Ivison in the National Post:

It's the green policy paradox. Governments want to achieve greenhouse gas reductions at the lowest possible cost, yet, in order to incentivize more environmentally-friendly behaviour, the price of pollution must be driven ever higher.

The extra charges coming to consumers and businesses will be costly, as home-heating bills and the price at the pumps dig even more deeply into Canadian pockets.

Businesses, meanwhile, are potentially looking at double-digit percentage increases in energy costs.

Unlike the carbon tax, the CFS offers no exemptions for large emitters in trade-exposed industries. That's because the government assumes regulated entities will simply pass on the costs downstream to producers and consumers.

As an indication of where this government is coming down on the green policy paradox, the price of credits under the CFS will be set at $350 per tonne.

Aside from the potential for strangling the economic recovery, the other obvious concern is the impact on national unity.

The accusations that Ottawa is adding to the burdens of the oil and gas producing provinces will surely follow the introduction of the draft regulations.

In short, a second carbon tax is a terrible idea, even in good economic times.

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and Canadians try to start rebuilding their businesses and the economy, the last thing they need is another expensive new tax.

If you agree, please sign our petition against the Clean Fuel Standard regulations - more accurately described as a second carbon tax, and then share the petition with your friends, family, and co-workers.