Being green isn't easy

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion is realizing being green isn't going to be easy. Although most public opinion polls will suggest Canadians are concerned about the environment, Dion's strategy of basing his party's platform on their Green Shift proposal dealing with climate change has become a marketing nightmare. Its 'carbon tax' label has made the Green Shift a vulnerable point for the Liberals and not a politically 'sellable' plan.

While Stephen Harper's Conservative minority government has only played lip service to dealing with environmental issues and its policies are routinely dismissed by environmental groups, he is having a field day with Dion's Green Shift. Whether or not this will translate into more seats in Quebec or a majority government status for the Conservatives is another thing. However, if the opposition parties succumb to Harper's challenge to force an election call with a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons, it is unthinkable at this point to believe the Liberals, NDP or Green Party will be able to oust the Conservatives, even if they form some sort of post-election coalition.

Well, if the federal government, no matter what party will be heading it after the next election, wants to help Canadians become 'greener,' one thing they can do is muster up some funding for provinces to improve public transit in urban areas. That's something West Islanders would buy into. Of course, any improvements to public transit would require municipal and provincial authorities to combine their heads and come up with a common sense plan, but that may be asking too much.

As for Dion's seemingly unpopular carbon tax agenda, the Liberal power base in Montreal, particularly in the West Island, won't shift that much, but it might hurt them in ridings were they may be vulnerable or close to winning back, such as Vaudreuil-Soulanges. This off-island constituency has been represented by Bloc Québecois MP Meili Faille since 2004 but it was held by the Liberals for many years before then. The Liberals recently announced a local candidate, Brigitte Legault, will try to win it back for them. Meanwhile, Conservative cabinet member Michael Fortier is also expected to run in this off-island riding in the next general election, finally ready to face voters for the first time after skipping some Quebec byelections since Harper appointed him to the Senate in 2006.