Last week Stéphane Dion tried to pull the wool over Canadians eyes and sneak in a permanent new tax that will destroy jobs and drive up the cost of gas, electricity and everything else Canadians buy.
While Liberals work overtime trying to duck, deflect and deny the real costs of the Dion Tax Trick, Canadians from coast to coast are already seeing through it.
David Bradley, the CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance warned that Mr. Dion’s new carbon tax would have a “devastating impact on the trucking industry,” and that the carbon tax will be passed on to consumers through “increased consumption prices for anything that's delivered by truck.” (Mike Duffy Live, June 19, 2008)
The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters declared that Mr. Dion’s carbon tax was a “move in the wrong direction that will more likely increase global emissions at the expense of the Canadian economy” (CME press release, June 19, 2008)
Jeremy Leonard, a senior fellow at the Institute for Research on Public Policy, said "it's clear that there are going to be people who are going to be losers financially." (Times Colonist (Victoria), June 20, 2008)
Nova Scotia Premier, Rodney MacDonald called the Liberal Plan unfair as it would “penalize Nova Scotians." (Chronicle Herald, June 20, 2008)
Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd said that if this Liberal tax grab were implemented, “Saskatchewan people will get the green shaft.” (CP, June 19, 2008)
Alberta Finance Minister Iris Evans declared that Mr. Dion’s plan would “cripple Alberta.” (CP, June 19, 2008)
The Winnipeg Free Press summed up the concerns of many of its readers when it declared that Mr. Dion’s carbon tax “will in the end affect most seriously the poor, the elderly and people on fixed incomes.” (Winnipeg Free Press, June 20, 2008)
And even NDP Leader Jack Layton warned that municipal politicians should be "quite worried" with the Liberal plan because it would drive up costs of urban transit and other city services. (The Winnipeg Sun, June 20, 2008)
With so many people lining up against the Dion Tax Trick, it’s no wonder Mr. Dion himself was opposed to a carbon tax just two short years ago.