$35 billion for 12 megatonnes of carbon—Canada’s indulgence economy is a terrible deal for taxpayers

$35 billion for 12 megatonnes of carbon—Canada’s indulgence economy is a terrible deal for taxpayers COMMENTARY 10 JULY 2026 i ARTICLE SUMMARY QUOTES In the late medieval church, a sinner of sufficient means didn’t need to stop sinning. He could purchase an indulgence—a certificate remitting the penalty for sins already committed—and carry on with his conscience cleared and his ledger balanced. The practice so scandalized a German monk that it helped launch the Reformation. Canada has now constructed its own indulgence economy around the oilsands, and Ottawa has gone a step further than Rome…