If Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget becomes law, Canada will cut public services and climate programs while increasing government handouts to oil and gas companies.

Energy efficiency rebates for homeowners? Gone. Yet the Liberals found $300 million for foreign investors to write off construction costs on new LNG terminals (even the ones built overseas).

A law against greenwashing by oil companies is being repealed. But actual greenwashing – in the form of costly, unproven “carbon capture” for bitumen mines – gets more taxpayer money.

Public transit funding, electric vehicle targets, Justin Trudeau’s promise to plant two billion trees: they all get the chop. Instead, Carney is parking $10 billion more in a “major projects” fund.

Page 83 of the budget lays out all the ways Ottawa is planning to fund new LNG terminals, along with other “Projects Of National Interest” that cabinet decides to fast-track. 

Right now LNG imports are dropping in Asia, and new terminals are outpacing demand. But our politicians are in too deep to change course. They’re hoping more taxpayer money will reduce the financial risks enough for Wall Street to keep investing in new gas projects.

There are some bright spots in the budget: more public housing, $20 million a year for a Youth Climate Corps, more studies for high speed rail, some nice words about wind and solar.

But overall, it’s clear Carney is betting on the same dream pursued by Stephen Harper and Christy Clark a decade ago: ever-expanding fossil fuel exports, propped up by taxpayers. 

Meanwhile, many of the customers for that oil and gas have started pivoting to renewable energy.