Correct Answer: a carbon charge on some imported goods
Passage Reference: Ottawa should charge for the carbon in imported steel, aluminum and fertilizer
Why this is correct: The columnist opens by saying Ottawa should charge for the carbon in imported steel, aluminum and fertilizer. Every person in the column gives a view on that charge.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, read the writer’s first sentence. Then check that every expert argues about the same idea.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new tax on Canadian steel exports: The charge would fall on imports, and Guay even wants rebates for clean exporters.
- a plan to close older steel mills: Nobody wants mills closed. Nwosu wants them to switch to cleaner furnaces.
- why fertilizer prices fell this year: Fertilizer prices are never said to fall. Wallin worries that farmers could pay more.
Correct Answer: Ludovic Bachand
Passage Reference: warns that a clumsy charge could provoke partners into answering with tariffs on Canadian food and auto parts
Why this is correct: Ludovic Bachand, the trade lawyer, warns about a clumsy charge. It could provoke partners into answering with tariffs on Canadian food and auto parts.
Tips: The question is about other countries hitting back. Read each speaker’s lines and find who warns about tariffs on goods from home.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Seraphine Guay: Seraphine Guay worries about jobs and pollution moving offshore, not about partners striking back with tariffs.
- Kelechi Nwosu: Kelechi Nwosu worries that cheap imports stop furnace upgrades. He never mentions tariffs from other countries.
- Axel Wallin: Axel Wallin sides with Bachand on a slow start. But his own warning is that farmers could pay twice, not that partners would strike back.
Correct Answer: plants that shelved furnace upgrades because of cheap imports
Passage Reference: no company will pay for a cleaner furnace if dirtier imports can undercut it the next day
Why this is correct: Nwosu says no company will pay for a cleaner furnace if dirtier imports can undercut it. Plants that shelved furnace upgrades because of cheap imports would support his position.
Tips: Find Nwosu’s reason in the third paragraph. The right choice is a real case that shows his point in action.
Why the other options are wrong:
- partners that answered a levy with tariffs: Partners answering with tariffs would support Bachand’s warning, not Nwosu’s point about furnace upgrades.
- farmers charged twice for the same carbon: Farmers paying twice would support Wallin’s call for credit, not Nwosu’s case.
- buyers who welcomed published product benchmarks: Published benchmarks are Guay’s request. Buyers welcoming them says nothing about furnace upgrades.
Correct Answer: producers would get credit for carbon already paid
Passage Reference: any formula must give credit to producers who already pay carbon costs under the output-based system
Why this is correct: Wallin says any formula must give credit to producers who already pay carbon costs, or farmers will pay twice. So his condition calls for producers to be credited for carbon they have already paid for.
Tips: Look for the word “must” in Wallin’s lines. Then read what the word “or” warns will happen otherwise.
Why the other options are wrong:
- imports would be banned outright: Wallin wants a formula with credits, not a ban on imports.
- the charge would start at the full rate: Wallin sides with Bachand on phasing the charge in slowly, so he does not want it at the full rate at once.
- exporters would pay no carbon price at home: Wallin wants credit for carbon costs that producers already pay at home. He never says they should stop paying.
Correct Answer: in favour, if it is phased in with care
Passage Reference: I think Ottawa should charge for the carbon in imported steel, aluminum and fertilizer, and I think it should move slowly.
Why this is correct: The columnist says Ottawa should charge for carbon in imports and should “move slowly.” The writer then proposes starting at a quarter of the full rate and raising it over four years.
Tips: Read the first sentence, where the writer gives two views joined by “and”. Then check the plan in the last paragraph.
Why the other options are wrong:
- opposed, since it could start a trade war: The writer supports the charge. The trade war worry is Bachand’s, and the writer answers it with a slow start.
- eager to impose it at the full rate now: In the last paragraph, the writer would start well below the full rate and raise it over four years.
- unsure, and unwilling to take a side: Notice that the writer takes a clear side in the first sentence of the column.
Correct Answer: exporters who can prove their production is clean
Passage Reference: plus rebates for any exporter able to prove its production is clean
Why this is correct: Guay argues for rebates for exporters who can prove their production is clean.
Tips: The comment names Guay and her rebates. Go to her first sentence and read who the rebates are for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- small firms with fewer than fifty staff: Firm size is never mentioned. Guay’s rebates depend on clean production.
- any company that hires Canadians: Guay does not link rebates to hiring. She links them to proving clean production.
- importers who pay their fees early: Guay’s rebates are for exporters, not importers, and paying early is never mentioned.
Correct Answer: a published phase-in calendar
Passage Reference: He would also publish a calendar for phasing it in
Why this is correct: The trade lawyer would publish a calendar for phasing the charge in. He would also open talks on exemptions.
Tips: The comment calls him the trade lawyer. Look at the end of his lines for what he “would also” do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a charge on every import: The charge covers steel, aluminum and fertilizer, and Bachand wants it phased in, not widened to every import.
- higher tariffs on foreign cars: Bachand fears tariffs on Canadian auto parts. He never asks for tariffs on foreign cars.
- a new court for trade cases: Bachand wants the design to follow world trade rules, not a new court.
Correct Answer: retraining for workers during the switch
Passage Reference: the money it raises pays to retrain workers at plants that are switching their furnaces
Why this is correct: Nwosu would back Guay’s version on one condition. The money it raises must pay to retrain workers at plants that are switching their furnaces.
Tips: The comment names Nwosu, so find his condition after “as long as”. Read what the money would pay for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- lower hydro bills for steel mills: Hydro bills are never mentioned. Nwosu wants the money spent on retraining workers.
- rebates for Canadian car buyers: Car buyers are never mentioned in the column.
- new roads to the steel plants: Roads are never mentioned. The money would retrain workers.
Correct Answer: a Hamilton steel mill
Passage Reference: I stood on the floor of a Hamilton steel mill
Why this is correct: The columnist says, “Two summers ago I stood on the floor of a Hamilton steel mill.”
Tips: The comment says “two summers ago”. Look for those words in the last paragraph and read where the writer stood.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a Quebec aluminum smelter: The Quebec smelter is Guay’s example of a plant losing orders. The columnist visited a steel mill in Hamilton.
- a Saskatchewan fertilizer plant: Saskatchewan is where Wallin exports fertilizer from. The columnist never visited a plant there.
- a Windsor auto parts factory: Auto parts come up only in Bachand’s warning about tariffs. The visit was to a Hamilton steel mill.
Correct Answer: a quarter
Passage Reference: I would start the charge at a quarter of the full rate
Why this is correct: Look at the last paragraph. The writer would start the charge at a quarter of the full rate and raise it over four years.
Tips: The blank asks how much of the full rate to start with. Look at the plan in the last paragraph for a fraction.
Why the other options are wrong:
- half: Half is never mentioned. The starting point is a quarter of the full rate.
- a tenth: A tenth is never mentioned. The columnist would start at a quarter.
- three quarters: Three quarters is never mentioned. The columnist would start at a quarter and raise it slowly.
