Liberals Doing Damage Control On ‘Carbon Tax’ Comment

A Brief from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

The Ontario Liberals now seem to be doing everything they can to run away from a statement that one of their MPPs, Dave Levac, a representative for the Brant riding and a recent parliamentary assistant to the province’s energy minister, recently made that a “carbon tax is on the table in Ontario “ for reducing greenhouse gases.

The province’s Conservative Party jumped on Levac’s comment, made to a Brantford newspaper this September 20, as more evidence that Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, who they have branded as “the taxman,” is out to dump more taxes on our head.

In the wake of this fire storm, Levac, according to a story we are posting below by Toronto Sun Queen’s Park bureau chief Antonella Artuso, has now pressed a panicky foot down on the clutch and thrown his remarks in to reverse. He “misspoke,” the Toronto Sun now quotes him saying. “I confused a ‘cap-and-trade program with a carbon tax.” What’s so sad is that a good case can be made for a carbon tax to do a couple of things – jack up the price of burning gas, oil and coal high enough to drive us away from our addiction to these fuels, and generate more revenue to invest in alternative energy sources.

Problem is that you can’t seem to talk about any kind of tax in a closely contested provincial election where any mention of a new tax could mean death to a party’s fight to win seats enough seats to form the next Ontario government. Lost in all of this is any rational discussion, beyond bumper sticker slogans, on the pros and cons of implementing a carbon tax.

Below  is a brief of the article by the Toronto Sun’s Queen’s Park bureau chief Antonella Artuso.

A Liberal MPP is backtracking on an explosive comment that a carbon tax is on the table for Ontario if his party is re-elected to govern.

Dave Levac, the parliamentary assistant to the Ontario Energy Minister, told the Brantford Expositor during a live chat online that they are reviewing a carbon tax.

“Yes, there is a possibility that a carbon tax is on the table to evaluate, because it presently is,” Levac said, when asked to confirm if a carbon tax was under consideration.

The Brant MPP issued a statement Tuesday night clarifying that he “misspoke” twice.
“I confused a cap-and-trade program with a carbon tax. While a cap and trade system has been discussed, a carbon tax is not and has never been on the table. In fact, the Premier has been clear and definitively ruled this out, permanently,” the junior energy minister said.

The Tories have wasted no time in pouncing on Levac’s gaffe.

A radio ad was ready for airing first thing Wednesday morning, warning taxpayers a carbon tax was “on the table”.

“And back in 2008 Dalton McGuinty was a strong supporter of Stephane Dion’s carbon tax,” the ad says.

“A new Liberal tax. Don’t these guys get it?

“We just can’t afford four more years of Dalton McGuinty.”
Tory allegations that he or his party are considering a carbon tax are “outrageously and flatly false,” Levac said. A carbon tax would drive up the cost of many common consumer goods and services, and would fly in the face of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s promise that he won’t raise taxes again.

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