By – Kendall Worth!
You, as the readers of my BLOG, may not even think for a minute that this Nova Scotia Carbon Tax (that took effect on July 1st, 2023) has any effect on the community of people I advocate for. After all, I do talk a lot in my BLOG posts about the Income Assistance Rates in Nova Scotia being $950.00 a month, or in some cases only $609.00, or $380 a month, depending on your circumstances. In this BLOG post I bring you information on the reality of how the carbon tax could potentially affect the community of people I advocate for. One thing that people have got to remember is, even though I weigh on heavily reporting on Income Assistance in Nova Scotia through my BLOG, My BLOG also reports on the working poor. Part of this reporting includes reporting on people who are not yet part of the impoverished community here in Halifax, but who are risk of someday becoming a part of this community. The following 2 BLOG Posts I am about to link shows 2 Major examples. This BLOG post https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2023/05/heartbreaking-news-i-learned-during.html where I reported on finding out the sad news that the teaching assistants and some school staff only make $200.00 to $400.00 more a month then people on welfare. The Carbon Tax is going to put a further dent in their wallets. And another Example of what I just said is shown in this BLOG post https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2023/04/my-take-on-double-tree-inn.html
Believe it or not. but some if not many of the homeless, are actually working medium wage jobs. Also the second article linked, reports the following quote from that post:
“What is clear, is that hotel staff are getting laid off at the end of the month – losing their jobs. At least some of the hotel staff may find themselves homeless, and some, even guests of the province at the Double Tree, after becoming unemployed and trying to keep up with the ever increasing rents. If so they may give a thought to the harassment and stigma they doled out, and may feel sorry they ever enforced policies so vigorously.
I hope that the residents who are currently staying at the Double Tree, or the new homeless who are going to be housed there on a new provincial contract, experience improved security and better access to food”
The reality is, of course, over these past several months, or maybe at least a year or longer, there has been talk in the news, meaning in the mainstream media, about the Carbon tax coming, and now it is actually here. You have got to remember, although it is well known that the climate is in crisis, and it is heavily reported in the mainstream media, we all have to remember the people I advocate for do not have the same resources as people in the financially better off community, to keep up on the news. When the people I advocate for, go to places like Souls Harbour, Hope Cottage, or Brunswick Street Mission, as 3 examples of where they go in their day-to-day life, things like the climate crisis and environmental issues are the last thing on their minds.
Now the reality is, as out of control inflation continues, meaning it has not stopped since the posting of this BLOG post https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2023/01/while-inflation-continues-to-behave-out.html and, as we see continued unexpected food bank usage increase like this BLOG post talks about https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2023/01/major-increase-in-food-bank-usage-is.html and as we also continue to see the homeless population increase https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/homelessness here, now comes the Carbon Tax.
And yes there is going to be a Carbon Tax Rebate, but one question the people I advocate for has asked about this rebate is “Is this Carbon Tax going to be Clawed Back from Income Assistance?”
The answer to this question, at present, is a mystery.
However, today, on the day I am writing this BLOG post, it turns out that different people I have talked to have different concerns. Even now, safe to say 80% to 90% of Income Assistance Recipients do not drive, there are some IA Recipients who drive vehicles. The ones, at least on the ones I personally know, who do own and drive vehicles are also single parents. In their cases, in addition to getting the Standard House hold rate, they also get a $150.00 transportation allowance for Gas and Vehicle Maintenance. These Single parents, I am in touch with, get that plus special diets and the $40.00 telephone allowance. Also, through my conversations, I have had with people on Income Assistance, today they brought up, that because of the Carbon Tax and it’s affects on Nova Scotians, moving forward especially if no solutions are found, is the concern they have about Summer time, or this upcoming Christmas Holiday, being yet another year (for the lucky Income Assistance recipients who may have family outside of Halifax) of not being able to travel to somewhere in Rural Nova Scotia. I reported in some articles in this link here https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/christmas; and my BLOG post of October 23, 2022 points out one specific example; this past Christmas made the 3rd year in a row that some Income Assistance recipients did not get to be with family. Christmas 2020 and 2021 it was because of COVID. 2022 the reason was because of various factors around inflation, COVID played a small part but not major like in 2021 and 2022, and the cost of buses and shuttles travelling to places outside of Halifax going up. Whether some will get to see family during the summer time remains to be seen, and Christmas 2023 is still 6 months away. Still they are worried about another Christmas of lonesomeness this year because of the Carbon tax driving up, once again, the cost of shuttles and buses to other parts of Nova Scotia.
On final note in this BLOG post, life is already hard and getting more expensive on everyone,
let alone Income Assistance recipients, this Carbon Tax is going to do no favours for anyone.
I will end this by bringing up the question should be get rid of this tax? There are a lot of mixed views on whether we should or shouldn't. It is totally understandable that the earth is in a climate crisis. Are there other options besides the Carbon Tax to help the climate crisis? These questions are things to thing about.
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