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NDP Leader Jack Layton is launching an attack on the notion of carbon taxes Thursday, distancing himself from a new Liberal climate change plan that has yet to even be introduced.

In a speech to staff and volunteers of an Ottawa homeless shelter, Mr. Layton will argue a carbon tax would penalize the growing number of Canadians who are already having a hard time making ends meet.

“Canadians believe that it's high time we place a price on carbon,” states an advance copy of the speech to be delivered today. “While many, like me believe that the most effective way to price carbon is through a cap-and-trade system where the big profitable polluters begin to pay their fair share, others suggest a carbon tax.

“Advocates of a carbon tax suggest that by making the costs for certain things more expensive, people will make different choices. But Canada is a cold place. Heating your home is not a choice... We should not punish people, but that is what a carbon tax does.”

Mr. Layton will repeat his call for climate change dollars to focus on energy retrofits of homes and buildings so that energy is reduced. The NDP and the Liberals have previously worked together to support a cap and trade system, which imposes penalties on industrial emissions above a certain level, or cap. A carbon tax normally applies to all emissions and to a wider range of emissions.

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion has said he will be announcing a new climate change plan shortly that will bring in “tax shifting,” which is meant to reward purchases and economic activity that is friendly to the environment while imposing financial penalties on activities that contribute to climate change.

Environmentalist David Suzuki recently praised the Liberals for considering a carbon tax and criticized the NDP for not supporting such a move.

The Conservative government has already been highly critical of the Liberal musings, predicting it will be highly unpopular in an era of soaring gas and energy prices.