The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to eliminate carbon taxes and anti-pipeline regulations rather than borrow billions for a proposed pipeline along the Trans Mountain corridor. The Alberta government estimates construction costs between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, with the private sector holding only 10 percent economic interest while federal and provincial governments would own the rest. The CTF argues that carbon taxes and regulatory red tape are making Canadian resource development uncompetitive, citing a Leger poll where 68 percent of Canadians believe industrial carbon tax costs are passed to consumers and statements from oil executives that current policies block private investment. The group suggests the same money could build over 80,000 homes in Alberta and calls for scrapping carbon taxes and anti-pipeline laws to let private capital fund projects instead of taxpayer borrowing.
