6860868769_e6603fe086_z.jpg

Why Does Canada Give Tax Breaks to the World’s Richest Polluters?

A really great analysis just posted by CBC's Senior Business Producer, Don Pittis, looks at why Canada (read: taxpayers) is subsidizing oil companies to the tune of $34 billion.

All this money is being spent on some of the world's richest companies to find more oil, which will subsequently pump more greenhouse gas emissions into our air — a viscious cycle that we as taxpayers are actively promoting with our own hard-earned money.

As Pittis writes:

"Despite saying one thing while doing another, the annoying part for people like me — who believe that the forces of economics are beneficial — is that these multibillion-dollar global subsidies subvert the market. They give false signals about how much we as a society should invest in an industry that many say is endangering the health of our planet."

You can read the entire article here: Why your taxes pay to make climate change worse.

Photo: Kris Krug via Flickr

Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?

Cycling to work in the winter can be a challenge. Especially when your work is the symphony

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. This story has been co-published with the Free...

Continue reading

Recent Posts

Our newsletter subscribers are the first to find out when we break a big story. Sign up for free →
An illustration, in yellow, of a computer, with an open envelope inside it with letter reading 'Breaking news.'
Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
'This is not a paywall' text illustration, in the black-and-white style of an album warning label
Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
'This is not a paywall' text illustration, in the black-and-white style of an album warning label