Commentary
The Trudeau government has launched a fresh new offensive in its economic war on Western Canada—once again under the guise of a brutally ill-conceived climate policy.
Oblivious to the consequences and unprepared to offer alternatives, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau let her provincial counterparts know last week that there would be no compromise on her plan to, effectively, reduce fertilizer use by close to one-third. That means farms will be less productive and will earn less money. Bibeau insists farmers, due to their love of the land, will embrace her plan.
While one supposes she had to say that, the reaction by Dutch farmers when their government imposed something similar indicates the minister may be mistaking raised fingers for open arms. The Netherlands, despite billions of euros in “transition” assistance, has been rife with blockades and violent protests—police opened fire on a tractor at one point—since it brought in its plan to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 50 percent over the next eight years….