ClimateGate news

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Dion's shifty green carbon tax

is looking more and more like it's just another Liberal tax. From the Edmonton Journal: Carbon tax would tap Alberta resources to fund Liberal social programs

CALGARY - An Ontario Liberal MP said Friday his party's Green Shift carbon-tax proposal will raid Alberta's energy riches and transfer wealth "from rich to poor, from the oilpatch to the rest of the country."

Ken Boshcoff, MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River, rekindled memories of the controversial national energy program when he stated on a blog post that the Grits' Green Shift program will inflict financial pain on Alberta and its oil and gas industry.

The carbon-tax proposal -- which is being sold to Canadians as an environmental initiative, first and foremost -- would slap a levy on greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and return the roughly $15 billion in annual revenues through a series of cuts to income and corporate tax.

Failing to say much about any environmental benefits of the plan, Boshcoff proudly proclaimed on a political news blog that the Green Shift is the "most aggressive anti-poverty program in 40 years," which will target wealthy provinces -- particularly Alberta.

"The shift will transfer wealth from rich to poor, from the oilpatch to the rest of the country, and from the coffers of big business to the pockets of low-income Canadians," he said in a post on NetNewsledger.com.

The MP explains in his post that the $15 billion in revenues will be used to pay for Liberal party social policies, including $9 billion in tax cuts for low-income earners and $2.9 billion for a universal child tax benefit.
Just where are the environmental benefits that are supposed to come from Dion's shifty green carbon tax? No mention of them. None. Conservative MP Jason Kenney adds:
"It reveals the real plan here, which is a massive new tax in order to finance increased social spending," Kenney said. "When you scratch below the surface, what you see here is a discredited, old, beggar-thy-neighbour, class-warfare politics."
What all of this talk by Dion & company about "green" taxes really boils down to is the introduction of massive new taxes and increased social spending with no environmental impact whatsoever.

Same old Liberal tax and spend. Same old Liberal plans for the redistribution of wealth from the "have" provinces (are there any left besides Alberta?) to the "have-not" provinces. This has a smell about it that's reminiscent of P.E. Trudeau and Marc LaLonde and the NEP.

Can the Liberals possibly come up with anything more divisive for this country?

Related: Company seeks $8.5 million from Liberals for use of Green Shift name.

3 comments:

Zookeeper said...

"Can the Liberals possibly come up with anything more divisive for this country?"

Well, yes, actually.

They could tax every barrel of crude oil at the wellhead or oilsands plant gate and promise that every dollar raised will go to Medicare.

It would provoke a political bonfire unmatched since the conscription debates.

A Dog Named Kyoto said...

Liberals thrive on seperatism. They encouraged it in Quebec and now they are trying to provoke it in Alberta.

John Nicklin said...

If Dion's plan is to have no impact on the tax payer, as he claims, he will have to reduce income tax (something Liberals just can't do).

If that is his plan, which it appears to be from what I have read, the plan is meaningless. That should come as no surprise to any Canadian.

I'm sure that they can think up more devisive policies, they did a pretty good job of it in the Trudeau era with the National Energy Plan. Another such policy initiative will push Alberta to bid Ottawa a fond farewell.