Thursday, October 02, 2008

The Most Practical Part of the Green Shift

Despite the rhetoric and the complicated nature of the green shift there is one section that helps Canadians, and is very simple to explain.

Fist off, Gasoline is exempt from the Green Shift. It is a total fabrication and lie, that the price of gas will go up in this plan. The Journalists who have never read the green shift should ask Mr Harper, why he is lying about taxing gasoline. On Page 28 of the green shift it is clear to me that the zero percent tax on gasoline helps Canadian families more than any other plan. Also, the price of gas has risen excessively in the past 18 months under Tory rule. The only thing they did was eliminate the office of Petroleum Pricing Information.

Secondly, let me cut and paste page 31 of the Green shift.

Price vigilance
Gas price increases are due to many factors, including restricted supply. There is also an increasing international demand on oil supply, as emerging economies such as China and India increase their own rates of consumption.
We also know Canadians are frustrated with spiralling energy costs and the lack of information and justification that often accompanies these increases. Canadians deserve clear and complete information and the provision of such information will make the market place fairer and more transparent. To accomplish this, we will restore the federal Office of Petroleum Price Information to monitor energy price fluctuations and provide clear, current information to Canadians. Work on the creation of this office was started under the previous Liberal government but was shut down by the
Conservative government. The Minister of Natural Resources will be accountable to Parliament for the Office.
Canadians are also concerned about the possibility of anti-competitive behaviour affecting energy prices. To allow for more effective enforcement of the Competition Act, we would examine introducing a dual-track approach to the criminal conspiracy provisions of the act to allow for a civil law regime to work beside the existing criminal law regime. The high criminal burden of proof currently contained in the Act makes properly prosecuting anti-competitive activity or price manipulation extremely difficult. A more reasonable civil standard of proof and will make successful prosecution more realistic and will help protect the consumer.


I posted this to cut through the BS, and show Canadians that the price of gas will not be taxed anymore, and that the Green Shift will take the oil companies to task. Its time for an honest debate, its time for the Conservatives and the media to be honest and actually read the green shift.

The Liberal plan on gas, as communicated by Dan McTeague, offers Canadians a hope, that they won't be gouged. The Liberal plan offers Canadians transparency and honesty from the Oil Companies (not a toothless Ombudsman like the NDP).

This is the opposite to the Conservatives who have acted like puppets of big oil. They have shrugged off the excessive high prices paid by Canadians at the pumps, and continue to pay lip service to average Canadians, while rolling out the red carpet for the oil lobby. Once again, I have to say; Do we really want more of this?

Here is Dan McTeague's video on gas prices, and the Liberal solution to this problem.

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