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"The Green Party is calling for carbon taxes that would increase gasoline prices by at least 12 cents per litre as a way to help avert what it calls global environmental mayhem," The Canadian Press reported Tuesday in its story May calls for carbon tax
"We need carbon taxes," Green Party Leader Elizabeth May proclaimed as she introduced her party's new climate change plan, entitled A New Energy Revolution to Avert Global Catastrophe [PDF].
"Right now, the Green Party of Canada is the only Canadian political party prepared to state this obvious reality," she told a news conference Tuesday in Ottawa.
Ms. May urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to adopt her party's proposals, and criticized the Conservative government's climate-change plan as a model for planetary disaster.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May
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"Please steal these ideas," Ms. May urged Mr. Harper.
"This is no time to align ourselves with the laggards of the world," she said, referring to the environmental policies of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Mr. Harper was in Germany, where climate change is expected to be a divisive issue at a meeting of G8 leaders.
So what do you think? Is Ms. May right? Or do you prefer the Tory "green plan?" Or the Liberal or NDP approach?
We are pleased that Ms. May was online earlier today on The Hill_Live, our weekly federal political discussion from Ottawa.
Your questions and Ms. May's answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Ms. May is an environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and leader of the Green Party of Canada, who became active in the environmental movement in the 1970s.
She is a graduate of the Dalhousie Law School and was admitted to the Bar in both Nova Scotia and Ontario.
She was senior policy adviser to the federal minister of the environment from 1986 until 1988.
Ms. May became executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada in 1989, a position she held until March 2006, when she stepped down to run for leadership of the Green Party of Canada.
Ms. May is the author of five books, including her most recent How to Save the World in Your Spare Time, a manual for activists.
She holds two honourary doctorates, and the Elizabeth May Chair in Women's Health and the Environment at Dalhousie University was created in her honour.
She has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the National Round Table on Environment and Economy and is currently is a member of the Earth Charter International Council.
Ms. May became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.
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Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Welcome, Ms. May, to The Hill_Live, our weekly discussion program on federal politics. We have a huge volume of questions for you today from our readers.
Let's start, though, by looking at the big picture. Regardless of the environmental and economic merits of the carbon tax you proposed yesterday, do you think there is any realistic political chance that this will be accepted by the other federal political parties? Or were you mostly drawing a line in the sand to coincide with the G8 summit?
Elizabeth May, Leader, Green Party of Canada: Hi, Jim, thanks for inviting me to the online forum.
The Green Party sees its role as advancing the right solutions — even if they are not immediately politically popular.
When all the other parties pander toward what they believe Canadians want, it's no wonder that so many citizens demand leadership. Leadership is taking stands and advancing solutions that really make sense, before they become "flavour of the month."
So, do we believe a policy of tax-shifting — reducing income taxes and reducing payroll taxes while putting a charge on carbon — will be accepted by other political parties in Canada?
