Axe the Tax protesters near Calgary: 'Carbon tax' increasing homelessness, drug addiction, panhandling

Hundreds of demonstrators participated in an "Axe the Tax" demonstration off of Highway 1 west of Calgary on Saturday in opposition to an increase in the federal "carbon tax" imposed on April 1.

The Canadian government regularly characterizes carbon dioxide emissions from fuel consumption as "pollutants" driving a warming of global temperatures and further creating dangerous "climate change". Disincentivizing fuel consumption via taxation, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will reduce this claimed phenomenon.

Protesters told Rebel News of damage caused by governmentally-driven increases in costs of living across the country. The centrality of fuel consumption to the modern economy, some noted, leads to broad-based increases in living costs for all types of goods and services via increased taxation of energy.

Demonstrators also highlighted the increasing visibility of spreading impoverishment, including higher rates of vagrancy, destitution, panhandling, and drug addiction on city streets. Some remarked on the growing visibility of "homelessness" as an indicator of worsening economic conditions.

Flags, frustration and freedom: Inside the growing revolt against Trudeau’s carbon tax

In a society where dissent is often dismissed as fringe or conspiratorial, these protests serve as a potent reminder of the power of collective action.https://t.co/y55KqVuMB6

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 15, 2024

Conversations about economic hardship are becoming more common among friends, family, and co-workers, many of the Axe the Tax rallygoers stated.

Several protesters noted how some Canadians have fled the country for the U.S. due to worsening economic conditions. The federal government's increasing extractive taxation and controlling regulations, they observed, were pushing Canadians to flee the country for what they consider freer and more prosperous alternatives.

Different persons and groups entered and left the protest at different times across the previous two weeks, given its start on April 1. A smaller portion of the protesters, around two dozen, have been sleeping in their vehicles – with some staying in trailers – across most of the past two weeks.