The Futureless Fund, men and women, and death

The Reading List for 14 Oct 22

Premier Andrew Furey told the House of Assembly on Wednesday afternoon that the provincial carbon tax is not a provincial government program. That’s simply not true. Full stop. Not debatable. The provincial government he helped put in office had a choice to let the federal government impose a tax or do one of their own. They went with a tax of their own that doesn’t give money back to the very people Furey now claims he wants to help.

What’s actually going on here is pretty simple and pretty obvious. Furey’s down in the polls. Rather than face the contradiction between the provincial carbon and the federal one, the Premier wants to bolster his standing in the polls by pretending to fight with the federal government. In the unlikely chance they cave, he is a hero. The more likely chance they stick to their guns, Furey can play victim, saying that he tried but failed.

It’s a poor strategy though since it undermines Furey’s own stance on climate change, Liberal party messaging about climate change, widens gaps with the federal Liberals without offering any political benefit to Furey at home, and reminds people he has been a policy pushme-pullyou since the beginning. He’s for everything at the same time, which means he’s for nothing. That’s Furey’s brand and he is always on-brand.

As the erstwhile biggest champion of green energy on the planet - remember his swan to Glasgow last year? - PAF should have a better explanation than the jargony jumble of gibberish he splattered across the House of Assembly during Question Period on Wednesday. When he opposes a carbon tax, Furey looks green but not in a good way.

Furey isn’t the first Premier like this recently. Pretty well every Premier back to Kathy Dunderdale was the same. When you have no idea why you are sitting in the Premier’s Office beyond knowing the job was open, this is what you get.

Another thing you get will be the feature of Monday’s column. They call it the Future Fund but what the legislation covers and what finance Minister Siobhan Coady described this week is nothing like what the economic recovery group suggested or oil and gas regions like Alberta or Norway have.

It’s something else entirely and not in a good way.

You’ll enjoy the story.

Meanwhile, paying subscribers can read on for the weekly suggestions on stuff to fill your brain. It’s an odd mixture and in some respects a weighty one.

If you haven’t joined their growing ranks, consider spending some of your Andy Bucks on a subscription for the year and give the other $450 to a charity of your choice.