Tag: green shift

Oh Danny Boy!

“A majority government for Stephen Harper would be one of the most negative political events in Canadian history” — Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

These were Danny Williams words last week as reported by CTV.ca.

Stephane Dion is in BC today trying to sell that province on the benefits of yet another carbon tax. The folks in BC aren’t buying as their own provincial carbon tax has been very unpopular. Dion’s tour lands its carbon belching jet in BC while gas prices are higher than they’ve been in recent memory. While gas prices have risen due in part to Hurricane Ike ravaging the Texan coastline, British Columbians aren’t likely to give Dion a hero’s welcome.

So why is Danny Williams running an ABC (anyone but conservative campaign)? For Newfoundland and Labrador this would only amount to electing more Liberals.

Oil producing economies such as Saskatchewan and Alberta have already slammed Dion’s plan. Why would Danny Williams want to hurt his own province’s economic future? Despite the obvious masochism in Danny’s begging for taxation that will affect jobs in his resource sector, Stephane Dion’s carbon tax will have real-world effects for everyday Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

The “Caribou” ferry uses 41,000 litres of fuel (partially diesel, partially bunker) to travel one way between NS and NL. By working to help the Liberals form government, Danny would be advocating a 7 cent per litre tax be applied directly to Marine Atlantic crossings. How would he reconcile that? This ferry service is a vital link for residents of that province to access the rest of Canada. Stephen Harper’s recent announcement cutting the excise tax on diesel goes directly against Dion’s plan for increased taxation. Since Newfoundlanders and Labradorians import most of their food, Dion’s carbon tax will be felt quickly as most food arrives by diesel-fueled trucks and ferry.

The fishery is also an integral part of the economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. Fishers use diesel fuel and will also face a 7 cent per litre tax increase under Stephane Dion’s plan. How can Danny Williams say he is standing up for fishers when he supports Stephane Dion’s carbon tax?

Danny has received a lot of political mileage when it comes to facing off against the federal government. He did so under previous Liberal administrations. However, while Newfoundlanders and Labradorians may appreciate Danny’s right-or-wrong hard-headed defense of their province, on support for Dion and, by extension, his carbon tax-centred political platform, Danny is wrong.

To the McGuintys is Dion a four letter word in Ottawa South?

Ottawa South is the federal riding of David McGuinty and the provincial riding of his brother, the Premier of Ontario.

On Monday, the Liberal Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty refused to endorse the federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion and even passed on endorsing the man’s key policy plank. From the Toronto Star,

McGuinty vowed to remain neutral other than campaigning with his brother, Liberal incumbent David McGuinty (Ottawa South).

While McGuinty said his aides would be allowed to help federal Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion “on their own time,” he took a veiled shot at the federal party’s Green Shift carbon-emission reduction program, which would tax fossil fuel consumption in exchange for income and corporate tax cuts. “I’ve got my own particular approach when it comes to dealing with carbon emissions. We believe in a cap-and-trade system.”

David McGuinty is Stephane Dion’s shadow minister of the environment. However, at the time of this writing, on his campaign website you will david-mcguinty of Dion’s showcase policy, the Green Shift. The younger brother of the Premier also supported Michael Ignatieff during the leadership race and praised him for wanting to put a price on carbon, essentially what Dion is proposing by using the taxation powers of the federal government. So why no mention of the Green Shift by Dion’s Green Lieutenant in Parliament?

Though David has eyed running for leadership of the federal party in the past, it is his brother Dalton who may be positioning himself for a run for the top Liberal job in the country (until recently that used to also almost always include the job of PM itself — it comes with a bonus and a drafty house). Dalton McGuinty is the first Liberal in Ontario to win back-to-back majority governments in 70 years and before the economy slips and as Ontario flirts dangerously with have-not status, Dalton may be looking to upgrade. As a Liberal with governing experience he would provide solid competition but clearer red-orange contrast to the presumed Liberal front-runner post-Dion, the former NDP Premier of Ontario Bob Rae. After years of government at Queen’s Park, McGuinty would also bring a solid camp of support to a future leadership race against the numbers that are grouping behind Rae.

So are the McGuintys looking to run their own campaign to Dump Dion? Though still winnable by Conservatives if they get out the vote with their candidate Elie Salibi (a Lebanese Canadian with solid community support), Ottawa South is considered safe by Liberal strategists. The McGuintys may be looking to give their 1% effort for Stephane Dion while setting up brother Dalton for a shot at the PMO.

On Liberal carbon tax hikes and Conservative excise tax cuts

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities put out this release today:

FCM Campaign Reality Check

Conservative Diesel Tax Cut proposal does nothing for transit riders, systems

A two cent cut in the excise tax on diesel fuel is worth $ 9.2 million per year to Canada’s transit systems – less than one quarter of one percent of their $ 4.8 billion in annual operating costs (Source: Canadian Urban Transit Association, 2007).

The proposed cut will cost the federal treasury $600 million per year. Less than two percent of those dollars, or one dollar in 60, will directly benefit transit systems.

A Strategic Counsel survey released last week showed that 8 in 10 Canadians think the federal government should dedicate more of its fuel tax revenues to repairing and building public transit systems. This announcement does not touch on investment needs.

Six in 10 Canadians say they would be more likely to take public transit if service was improved. The excise tax cut will do nothing to get more buses on the road or improve existing commuter rail service.

One in five Canadians are ready to switch to public transit because of the high price of filling up their cars. But most urban transit systems are at or beyond capacity at peak hours. New federal funding – not marginal tax cuts – are needed to help Canadians make the switch from cars to transit.

The priority for transit systems are for new investments, not cuts to the fuel tax.

For more information, contact: Maurice Gingues, FCM – (613) 907-6395

The mayor of Ottawa sent the following email out to all of the major city mayors across Canada:

The excise tax cut announced today by Stephen Harper was targeted towards farmers and truckers. However, as a side benefit, it helps municipalities which use diesel fuel for their buses and other forms of mass transit. The FCM complains that more could be done for transit costs by the federal government, however, today they were handed an unexpected bonus.