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Perverse subsidies
And guess who pays for these so-called “perverse subsidies”? You do. Billions of dollars are spent subsidizing industries in fields such as fossil fuels forestry and nuclear energy. These publicly owned resources are routinely given away or priced far below market value. Many provinces, for example, receive no royalty payments from coal mined on public land. This is money that could have been spent on researching non-polluting alternative energy sources such as solar power or wind energy. Canadians end up paying for these perverse subsidies twice. Once when grants or tax credits are given out, and again when they must pay for the consequences of ecological damage, increased healthcare costs, and environmental clean-ups. For a scholarly look at how Canada fares in perverse subsidies compared to other G-8 nations, visit: http://pubs.wri.org/perversehabits-pub-3045.html
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Would you give money to someone who dumped oil into your water supply? Of course not. But on a larger scale, that’s just what happens when the government gives money or tax credits to businesses that engage in environmentally destructive activities. 
