British Columbians are divided over the carbon tax brought in by the provincial Liberal government. And this means it’s going to be tricky for Stéphane Dion and his federal Liberals to wage an election campaign in B.C. around his “Green Shift” plan, which also involves a carbon tax.

Mario Canseco, director of global studies with polling firm Angus Reid, made this assessment amid wide expectations before the Georgia Straight went to press that Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper will engineer a federal election this fall.

In a phone interview, Canseco suggested that federal Liberals may have to “tailor the message and do something different here in B.C.”, like focusing on Harper’s character or the credentials of the Liberals in managing the economy.

“If they run their campaign based on the environment, and on the actual possibility of having this new carbon tax come in, it’s going to be very, very complicated,” Canseco said.

It doesn’t help that the federal Liberals are trailing behind the three other major parties in voting intentions among British Columbians. According to Angus Reid survey results released on August 30, the Conservatives are leading the pack with 33 percent; the NDP is favoured by 25 percent; the Green party, 20 percent; and the federal Liberals, 19 percent.

The B.C. carbon tax took effect on July 1 this year, starting at $10 per tonne on associated carbon or carbon-equivalent emissions. The tax, which applies to fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, and natural gas, will increase to $30 in 2012.

In June, Dion unveiled his Green Shift plan, which features a carbon tax rising from $10 per tonne to $40 per tonne over a four-year period. The tax will not apply to gasoline at the pumps; it will cover diesel and aviation fuel starting in the second year.

These two carbon-tax models provide that all revenues be returned to individuals and businesses through tax reductions.

Results of an Angus Reid survey released on August 27 showed that almost half of British Columbians reported that the provincial carbon tax has either severely or moderately affected their household finances. Twenty-seven percent reported that they have a slight problem with the tax, and only 24 percent indicated that they have no trouble with the policy.

The Dion plan pledges that the federal government will work with provinces like B.C. to ensure that “our system to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is administered fairly.”

Liberal MP Joyce Murray, who won the March 17, 2008, by-election in Vancouver Quadra, has been holding town-hall meetings in the riding to promote Dion’s Green Shift plan.

According to Murray’s spokesperson, Robert Kraljii, the former B.C. Liberal environment minister will convene another meeting on this proposal at UBC on September 13.

“The provincial Liberals may have their own gas tax, but we have no gas tax in our carbon tax,” Kraljii told the Straight. “The challenge with the provincial election also coming [in 2009] and with the [provincial] NDP campaign to axe the tax is that many people are confused when we talk about our Green Shift.”

Murray is one of the designated spokespeople for Dion’s Green Shift. In an interview following her election, Murray stressed that putting a price on carbon emissions is widely accepted as a sound measure to address the challenge of “catastrophic global warming”.

“We have a serious, serious problem and we need governments to take this seriously,” Murray told the Straight. “The Conservatives are not. That’s clear from their attack ads and just their policies, actually, and their government [is] led by someone who’s denied the existence of climate change and fought against measures to deal with it until very recently.”

Murray can expect to tangle for a second time with UBC Sauder School of Business lecturer Deborah Meredith, who is running again as the Conservative candidate for Vancouver Quadra.

Meredith, who lost to Murray by only 151 votes in the by-election, noted that Dion’s carbon tax appears to be the only major plank of the federal Liberal platform at this time.

“I don’t think that we want any new taxes,” Meredith told the Straight of B.C. voters.

Election will kill some controversial bills

> Bill S-205: an act that aims to make it easier to declare bankruptcy on student loans, so one could do so after two years rather than 10

> Bill C-52: an act that would rejig the way Canada deals with consumer products’ safety, with the aim of clearing toxic products off shelves

> Bill C-25: an act that aims to make it easier to keep youth who are accused of a crime detained before they go to trial if they are considered dangerous

> Bill C-484: an act that would make injuring a pregnant woman a double crime by making the injuring of her fetus a crime

> Bill C-6: an act that requires voters to have their faces uncovered so officials can visually identify them

> Bill C-428: an act cracking down on the manufacture of crystal meth

Source: www.canada.gc.ca/