Dion’s Green Shift shifts more taxes to government coffers

If you like Canada Post and think our healthcare system is just ducky, then you’ll love Stephane Dion’s “Green Shift” scheme. In a nutshell the Green Shift Dion is focusing on is the green in your pocket going into the government’s pocket.

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Touted as a ‘revenue neutral’ tariff at its introduction in Ottawa yesterday, the Green Shift will generate an additional $15+ billion into government coffers during the first year. Of course Dion promises that this additional revenue will be offset by tax cuts to lower income taxpayers and claims that it will not affect the cost of gasoline at the pump in any way. Having seen what past Liberal government schemes have done to Canada’s economy, I can only surmise that the Green Shift as Dion envisions it will be really good for the Liberal Party of Canada and will devastate the Canadian economy and along with it the middle class. Given that there are violent demonstrations worldwide protesting high fuel prices, Dion couldn’t have picked a worst time to introduce a carbon taxation scheme. Spanish farmers, Israeli truckers and even students in Nepal have taken to the streets to violently protest the world’s economic downturn driven by high-energy costs. And Dion wants to add to those costs by imposing a carbon tax. The immediate results, according to the Liberal Spin Machine is that the average family’s heating bill will increase by “only” about $203 per year extra on their home heating bill and “only” about 95¢ more for a tank of BBQ propane. There’s two things wrong with that claim: the first is that the increase comes on the heels of a massive increase in energy costs over the past few years that has seen home heating bills increase by as much as 100% and the second is that the $203 figure being floated by the Libs is likely way light of the actual effect this new tax will have. Dion’s Green Shift is yet another shameless attempt at pulling cash out of the pockets of those who are doing well and using it to buy the votes of those who are doing less well. The biggest impact of the so-called Green Shift would be on the economies of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, where Canada’s energy sector is currently more or less keeping the economy, such as it is, afloat. Those living in Ontario and Quebec I’m sure would like to see someone stick it to the oil companies, which is what makes this plan so dangerous. There’s a chance that the dummies in central and eastern Canada will buy it. If you think that times are tough with gas ranging from $1.30 to $1.50 per liter, wait until gas hits $2.00 per liter, as the businesses Dion is planning to screw start passing on the cost of this Ponzi scheme to you, the end user. Not only will gas prices rise more, but also along with the price of gas, the price of everything else is going to rise dramatically. The price of food will sky rocket, as transportation costs have increased; the cost of travel, the cost of clothing, new housing, raw materials, etc. will all go through the roof and initiate a new round of inflation that will bring about higher interest rates and result in a deep recession if not an outright depression. You can’t impose the kind of insult to a national economy that Dion is proposing without affecting the performance of that economy. And just as the Liberals in 1984 said the Canada Health Act would fix healthcare in Canada for all time, Dion’s Green Shift will likely “fix” the Canadian economy for all time. Let’s hope Canadians don’t fall for this cheap and transparent trick.