Dion shifting away from Green Shift

The current leader of the Liberal Party, Stéphane Dion has been gradually shifting away from his proposal for a shifty green carbon tax.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said today that his Green Shift plan featuring a controversial carbon tax is not a major part of his election platform.

"You have said it was but never me," Dion told reporters.

His surprise declaration follows by a day campaign appearances in the Toronto area where he failed to mention it once in his speeches.

Not a major part of his platform? What nonsense! The Conservatives published this today.

Stéphane Dion used to say that his risky carbon tax scheme was “the heart of our strategy”. (Kingston Whig Standard, July 26, 2008)

It is true though that Dion has been mentioning his "Green Shift" tax less and less often in his election speeches per this graph from the CPC website:

Dion's Green Shift has been criticized because a) it is too difficult to understand, b) the details have yet to be worked out, b) Canadians doubt it will be revenue neutral as promised and c) Dion attempts to explain it only confuse rather than clarify.

Dion has trouble explaining any policy, let alone how a hefty new carbon tax could be a good thing. Take this comment for example:

Rudy Ammeter, the owner of an area farm where Dion released his agricultural plan today – he pledged $1.2 billion in green funding for farmers – told reporters that he wished the party leader would back away from it.

"I have a hard time figuring it out," he said.

The "green professor" Stéphane Dion seems to have realized that Canadians are not buying his shifty green carbon tax and wants to shift the dialog to other issues. But somehow I think that the other parties are not going to let him off the hook on this one.

Update: this has to be the quote of the day...

"Stephane Dion distancing himself from the Green Shift is like Tim Hortons distancing themselves from the donut," Harper said. "Just because the carbon tax is now a hidden agenda, doesn't mean it's going to go away."