Nobody green in envy over Liberal plan, opposition says

As Parliament cools off over the summer after a particularly heated session over the last few months, federal-level West Island politicians are debating the pros and cons of the recently revealed Liberal party's Green Shift plan.

Lake St. Louis federal MP Francis Scarpaleggia defended party leader Stéphane Dion's newly disclosed policy. "We're not imposing taxes at the pump," he said, in response to criticism spread by some other parties about the Green Shift.

According to official Liberal Party documents, under a Liberal government the Green Shift plan would place a tax on carbon-emitting fossil fuels. Propane, jet fuel, heavy fuel oil, light fuel oil, kerosene, etc., would all be taxed. "The price will begin immediately at $10 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions, and steadily rise by an additional $10 per ton each year, reaching $40 per ton within four years," a pamphlet about the plan reads.

Since gasoline is already taxed at a rate of over $40 per ton at the pumps, Scarpaleggia said, there will no additional taxes there.

Scarpaleggia stressed the revenue-neutral aspect of the plan. As the carbon tax plan is moved into place, the Liberals plan to cut income tax rates. Lower-tier income taxes would be cut down to 13.5 per cent from 15 per cent, and middle tax rates would be cut to 21 per cent from 22 per cent, and 25 per cent from 26 per cent.

However, the Green Shift received faint praise at best from opposition parties. "It's the second best (plan for fighting climate change)," said Lake St. Louis riding Green Party candidate Peter Graham, adding the Greens have had a similar, but stronger, carbon tax plan ready over 20 years ago, when mainstream media still avoided the subject of climate change.

"We don't have as much time (to combat climate change) as the Liberals seem to think," said Graham. He added the Greens also have a cap and trade system in place.

This type of system would see companies being imposed a limit on how much tonnage in pollutants they could produce. Those that pollute less would be rewarded with credits, and those that cannot cut down on pollution would need to buy those credits from the greener enterprises in order to have the right to pollute more.

This is a system the New Democratic Party also proposes as a plan to combat climate change, but the NDP does not have an accompanying carbon tax plan. "The cap and trade system would actually force polluters to pay for their pollution," said the NDP's Lake St. Louis candidate Dan Quinn.

"I think people's wallets are being hit already," Quinn said, adding the Liberal carbon tax plan focuses too much on individual Canadians' pockets rather than those of big polluters.

However he did call Dion's plan a step forward. "We welcome the debate," he said.

According to Graham, however, the NDP's steadfast refusal to acknowledge the Liberal plan's worth is little more than a grab for votes. "They're thinking strategically about what's going to get them votes, not what's good for Canadians," he said.

Pierrefonds/Dollard Conservative Party candidate Pierre-Olivier Brunelle dismissed chances of Green Shift resonating locally. "I don't think (West Islanders) will get back anything close to what they spend," Brunelle said. Under Dion's scheme, he said residents of suburban areas like in the West Island, who tend to have high gas-related expenditures due to multiple cars and spending on energy, would not benefit from Green Shift.

John Abbott College political science professor James Leeke endorsed the plan. "I think this is very bold and very courageous," he said, adding it is also a dangerous political strategy. According to Leeke, the onus will be on Dion's backbenchers to explain the workings of the plan properly to their constituents in their ridings.