Readers offer opinions on transparency on how Saskatchewan is spending the carbon tax it is collecting, the state of society and the war in Gaza.
Regulated industries exceeding a specific threshold for their sector pay a levy, a portion of which goes into the Ministry of Environment’s Saskatchewan Technology Fund to help them lower emissions, yet as of the end of 2023, none of the fund’s roughly $150 million accumulated since 2019 had been invested in anything.
The province’s requests to replace the federal program with its own plan, to have SaskPower’s emissions from electrical generation included and to have revenues from the OBPS remain in the province were granted by the federal government in late 2022 and became effective Jan. 1 of 2023.
Hopefully, they are used for their intended purpose, and don’t simply vanish into the general revenue fund to be used to help backfill some of the province’s huge deficits generated in recent years.
Harold Pexa, Saskatoon
Fear and loathing defines modern times
Hunter S. Thompson wrote a whole series of columns that began with. “Fear and Loathing in“ various places. Fear and loathing seems to be a more and more appropriate description of modern lives.
Hearing the phone ring used to mean that a friend or family member wanted to chat, not that some scam artist was trying to separate us from our money. Dropping in on a neighbour was the norm. Then, calling ahead was expected; now we are supposed to text ahead to see if people are willing to speak to us on the phone.
Some people are gaining wealth and power by encouraging fear and loathing. Some so-called leaders are contributing by actively demonizing everyone who holds a contrary view. The resulting distrust isn’t making us happy or healthy and we are not obliged to acquiesce to that worldview.
David Steele, Saskatoon
Diplomacy only hope in Israel war in Gaza
On the other hand, the Israeli leadership ostensibly seeks peace, but without any commitment to the democratic aspirations of the Palestinian people to have their own state.
Moreover, the present Israeli leaders of their nuclear-armed state see no need nor necessity for any legitimate peaceful resolution of their conflict, so long as they have the unequivocal and unlimited backstop of the world’s only remaining global superpower, the U.S.A.
That said, I believe most people on both sides of this intractable divide want a just and durable peace. Skilled diplomacy is needed to thread the needle of this aspiration. No easy task, but the alternative continues to be ghastly and worse, again.
Paul Sopuck, Saskatoon
Share your views
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.