Good grief the Con's are a desperate bunch aren't they? They are so terrified of the Green Shift that they are throwing every ridiculous claim they can think of to discredit it.The latest? That Dion is going to make secret side deals with the provinces re' the implementation of the Green Shift.
Tory MP Jason Kenney, the party's designated attack dog on the Liberals' carbon tax, says Dion on Sunday contradicted statements made recently by British Columbia's premier.
How incredibly ridiculous. What did Gordon Campbell say?
But B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said earlier this month that Dion had assured him the Liberal plan would not amount to double taxation on British Columbians, who are already subject to a provincial carbon tax.
Well, call me crazy but how is that a side deal? That's called working with the provinces, a concept so far removed from this government's psyche that they mistake it for what it is not.
At least this reporter used his/her head and pointed out that the Con's were doing some interesting interpretation of Campbell's comment.
The Conservatives apparently took Campbell's remarks to mean B.C. would get special treatment under the Liberals' so-called "green shift." Kenney says Dion's comments seem to fly in the face of Campbell's.
Kenny further claims that a deal will also be struck with Nova Scotia, a question asked of Dion by Bob Fife on QP today.
Asked during an interview broadcast on CTV's "Question Period" about side deals, Dion said special arrangements with the provinces had not been discussed.
"No, we didn't speak about side deals," he said.
Why does Kenney think so?
The Conservatives also claim Nova Scotia may get preferential treatment after Liberal MP Scott Brison told a Halifax newspaper last month that his party would work with that province to implement the so-called "green shift."
Brison is quoted as saying "a Dion government would sit down with the provincial government and engage both the government of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Power in a constructive discussion on how to help Nova Scotia (make the) green shift and we would invest in it."
The shock, the horror! A Dion government would take the time to meet with provinces to assist them to implement the plan. Scary stuff!
Well, if this is what they have left to throw at the plan, I'd say they are more desperate than I thought. They may find it easy to think illogically, but most of the rest of don't engage in such nonsense.
If you want to watch the Dion interview, it's here. Good interview, or replies anyway, ;). He finally says clearly that the Con plan will also increase prices, but they offer no tax cut's to offset increased costs. As I've said many times, that has to be emphasized each and every time the Shift is spoken of.
Oh, there are also clips of Kenney and his fellow attacker Van Loan if you care to watch them blather on.
8 comments:
I couldn't take their blather/lies anymore so I switched to an Obama interview/town hall with reporters.
I already knew what Kenney and Van Loan were going to say....attack, negative, bash and yet NOTHING of a debate. What a bunch of clowns. They must have tapes playing while they're sleeping to get the lies and rhetoric down pat.
Where's Baird these days? Isn't this his baby? Is he hiding?
They must have tapes playing while they're sleeping to get the lies and rhetoric down pat.
Funny, but perhaps not so far fetched.
Baird? The fake Environment Minister? How dare you expect him to speak to Environmental issues. What a silly expectation.
Can you believe how ridiculous this government is? 30% of us apparently agree with them. Scary.
Green focus is good, but perhaps some focus on education in this country should happen too.
You can keep spinning all you want but the fact is that if Dion promised BC some alternative arrangement that exempts them from the Green tax then he made a side deal. A back room phone call that promises BC different treatment at the federal level than the other 9 provinces and 3 territories is exactly what the term "side-deal" means. We saw this type of vote buying scam during Martin and his child-care programme. Dion must say exactly what BC is getting and allow all provinces and territories the opportunity to make similar deals to protect themselves from the tax grab. Since Alberta just announced 4 billion in expenditures for carbon capture and reduction of emissions, will taxpayers of Alberta be exempted because so much of their tax monies are being directed to the issue? BC got a side deal. Dion's idea of dealing with provinces seems to be buy their silence or votes with side deals - not a great national strategy.
ron
How is it a side deal to harmonize carbon taxes, so the people of B.C don't have an unfair burden, relative to other Canadians. I heard what Dion said, and he said their were no deals, but acknowledged working with his "partners" to bring a national initiative. How that's a problem is clearly just partisan SPIN Ron. Sounds like common freaking sense from here. And the funniest part, you have guys like Moore running around B.C telling everyone Dion wants a "double tax". Which is it guys, double dipping or side deals? The two arguments are complete hypocrisy, but should we be surprised?
Knb, the real dynamic here, look WHO is reacting WHO. A sitting government attacking like a rabid opposition, whilst the supposed "not a leader" guy sits center stage, as though his policy is actual legislation. And, this isn't John Tory, where everyone just pointed and let him self destruct, this is primary ground. Dion has seized the agenda, hence the kitchen sink, or in this case a sweaty guy and the friendly lion.
Fair enough - BC institutes a carbon tax and gets exempted - will Ontario and Quebec be exempted for implementing the cap and trade deal? Will Alberta be exempt for taxing their people 4 billion for their carbon policies? GST harmonizing did not exempt provinces from paying GST so why should green tax harmonizing exempt BC from paying federal green tax? Working with the provinces is fine but cutting side deals so they will sign on to a bad policy, and not make noise about it, is not. Newfoundland is very quiet about this - are they working on a side deal also? I realise, having no defendable position, you throw nasty insults and accusations around but the facts are the policy is flawed; the timing for a 15 billion dollar tax is horrible and the statement that it is revenue neutral is a total fabrication. The policy paper even states the funds raised will be used for all manner of policies and funding that has nothing to do with reducing emissions. We all remember Chretien and his dump the GST mistatement of the truth and Dalton's I won't raise your taxes mistatement of the truth and this revenue neutral is just one more.
And, Harper's respect for anything "science"....
OTTAWA, July 25, 2008: Earlier this month, on a summer Friday afternoon, Stephen Harper appointed his former boss, Reform Party founder Preston Manning, to Canada's science advisory panel.
With Parliament adjourned and the opposition and media corps mostly away, little mention was made of the irony of appointing a religious fundamentalist and career politico with a BA in economics to the Council of Canadian Academies. The mandate of the group is to provide an "independent, expert assessment of the science underlying pressing issues and matters of public interest." Its goal of building "public confidence that policy and regulatory decisions are being based on broadly accepted scientific knowledge and evidence" conflicts with Manning's own conservative religious views.
.....speaks volumes....
WOO HOO!!!
The Liberal Green Shift Plan is still the hot topic of the summer. That is almost six weeks of Canadians talking about a Liberal initiative.
And the Conservatives are so afraid of that fact that they are trying to find yet another line of attack against it.
I guess their internal polling has shown that their "it's a tax on everything" line is not resonating as well as they would like.
I noticed Don Martin had a missive in the National Post today as well.
It is a perverse feature of politics that when your opponents attack your ideas and policy proposals, well after you have released them, it is usually good news.
I again would bring your attention to the Conservatives Accountability Act. It became the hot topic for weeks after they released it. It eventually faded as other events overtook it but it was indelibly imprinted on the consciousness of Canadians so that when the election happened almost a year after its release it became the cornerstone of what would prove to be a winning election campaign for the Conservatives. (Just)
I have absolutely no problem with the Conservatives talking about The Green Shift. It brings it back to the front burner and it highlights, once again, that they do not have a viable plan to compete with it.
The Conservatives continue to break a cardinal rule of being in government. Ignore the ideas presented by the opposition. To do otherwise is to give them credibility. But then again, what would you expect from a political party whose mindset has never really transited from that of an Opposition Party to that of the Party in Government.
Don't stop Mr. Kenny you are doing the Liberals job for them!
ottlib
I freely admit, I was wrong about my assumption that opposition leaders rarely get traction over the summer. While not all good, there is no question that Dion has done his image a world of good, not to mention he has positioned himself as a Prime Minister in waiting. Amazing what some policy can do, for both the leader and a grassroots, desperate for something to get behind.
As a sidenote, that article on Dion's "image" has been making the rounds, including two Quebec papers that I've seen. Can't hurt.
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