June 10, 2008
Yesterday Canadians had another opportunity to peer behind the weasel words and political trickery being used by the Stéphane Dion Liberals to conceal their planned permanent new carbon tax.
During a single episode of CTV’s Mike Duffy Live two senior members of Mr. Dion’s caucus could not even keep their stories straight over the course of a single half hour.
At 5:02 pm EST, Dion booster Garth Turner called Mr. Dion’s secret plan a “carbon tax” and confessed to the fact that the Dion plan is a “tax” after all.
Less than 20 minutes later at 5:22 pm EST, on the exact same television program, another senior Dion booster, Bryon Wilfert anxiously performed damage control, saying “there is no carbon tax” at all.
Mr. Wilfert is clearly taking advice from Liberal strategists who reportedly warned the Liberal Caucus “against describing their fledgling proposal as a 'tax' - a sure-fire bet to drive away voters.” (Toronto Star, May 15, 2008). By hiding behind phony language he is hoping to pull the wool over Canadians’ eyes.
Tax. No Tax. A kind-of tax. A hidden tax. Tax shifts. Carbon shifts. Green Shifts. With the Dion Liberals every day brings a different label, a different excuse and a different trick.
It’s no wonder. Last year Mr. Dion himself was declaring that carbon taxes were a “bad policy”. Now he is trying to trick Canadians into swallowing just that.
When Canadians hear politicians weaseling about the wording of a tax they better hold on to their wallets.
The Dion Tax Trick. Everybody sees through it.