Bill Kelly: Trudeau’s carbon tax gamble

The Trudeau Liberals got some unexpected good news last week when an independent report from Canadians For Clean Prosperity indicated that the Liberals’ carbon tax plan, due to be rolled out next year, could actually be a net financial benefit to most Canadians.

We already know from a recent Maclean’s poll that a majority of Canadians are open to the idea of some kind of carbon taxing, so it seems that the scene is set for the plan to be a success right?

Not so fast!

Amid the encouraging statistics in the Clean Prosperity Report is a very important cautionary phrase that states that the success of carbon taxing is very much dependent upon the program being administered properly by the government.

And there’s the rub.

This government has a spotty record of success when it comes to getting money out the door to groups that were promised assistance.

WATCH: Ford says he expects to be joined in battling carbon tax by Alberta’s Jason Kenney

2:13 Ford says he expects to be joined in battling carbon tax by Alberta’s Jason Kenney

Of course, there is some hardcore support for carbon taxes for purely environmental reasons, but most of the support for a carbon tax is predicated on dollars and cents.

We know that some prices will increase, but if

Canadians start receiving government rebate cheques that exceed those increases, as the report suggests, support for the program will grow.

But, if those cheques are delayed or smaller than anticipated, that support will evaporate quickly and, in an election year, that can have dramatic consequences.

Bill Kelly is the host of the Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.