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HALIFAX — Stéphane Dion is refusing to delay his Green Shift plan if he forms a government although his deputy leader, Michael Ignatieff, says he'd consider changes to the scheme because of the difficult economic times.
“I know that the contrary has been said in the papers,” Mr. Dion said in French to reporters Thursday in Halifax.
But he said that Mr. Ignatieff had confirmed a shared view with Mr. Dion that the Green Shift plan would stimulate the economy.
On Wednesday, as Mr. Dion was defending his Green Shift plan to reporters and saying he would not delay it or change it if he became Prime Minister, Mr. Ignatieff was telling a different story to the editorial board of Montreal's La Presse newspaper.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion speaks to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce in Halifax, on Oct. 9. (Shaun Best/Reuters)
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Mr. Ignatieff said “it's possible” that Liberals would consider changing the details of the plan. He said they would hold on to the “essential elements” of the scheme but that “we need to adjust in front of unpredictable (times).”
Mr. Ignatieff cautioned, however, that the party would not abandon the plan because “Mr. Dion has based all of his career on it.”
The deputy leader was Mr. Dion's main rival for the 2006 leadership.
Yesterday, Mr. Ignatieff tried to clarify his remarks to La Presse. But his comments still appeared contradictory. In a telephone interview, he said, that the Green Shift plan is “the condition for the economic survival.”
And he noted that he had first proposed a similar type scheme in his unsuccessful bid for the Liberal leadership.
“But as you know we are in an economic situation that changes everyday,” he said. “A responsible politician needs to acknowledge the economic situation as it and a Liberal government needs to act according to the facts and economic data of the moment.
“But I am absolutely convinced that the Green Shift is the best way to solve the crisis,” he said.
The contradictions over the plan come as the Liberals are trying to play down the Green Shift plan as one of their main platform pieces. It has been a hard sell, especially in Atlantic Canada and the west.
Indeed, in recent speeches – in Toronto Wednesday and Halifax Thursday – Mr. Dion has barely mentioned the plan.
Rather, he is going after the Harper Tories on the economy, accusing the Conservative leader of being out of touch with ordinary Canadians and having no plan in the midst of the economic turn-down.
Mr. Dion and his team are playing up the successes of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin as deficit slayers. The strategy appears to be working. Polling has shown a tightening gap between the Conservatives and the Liberals.
It therefore is little surprise that the Tories are trying to change tactics and go on the offensive against the Dion Liberals, with Stephen Harper warning of the dangers of Mr. Dion's refusal to delay the implementation of such a tax.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dion attempted to chip away on the left Thursday, telling Haligonians that they “should think twice about voting for Jack Layton.”
Mr. Dion was in the midst of NDP territory, speaking in a riding that has been strongly NDP since Alexa McDonough took it over in 1997. Although she has stepped down, her successor is expected to keep the riding NDP.
“Canadians know that Jack Layton will not be elected Prime Minister on October 14,” he said. “We all know that. It's a choice between Prime Minister Harper and Prime Minister Dion.
“And in this last week of the election, it is become clearer and clearer that a vote for Jack Layton will save only one job, and that is Stephen Harper's.”
Liberal strategists believe that they need to flush out the votes on the left – from the Greens and NDP – to make gains. They are worried that three-way splits on the left could elect more Conservatives.
Meanwhile, the Liberal leader was also asked about how he would handle the situation of the private sector banks not passing on to consumers the rate reduction by the Bank of Canada.
“It would be much preferable for Canadian families and investors that they would do it, but the reason that they are not doing it must be understood,” he said.
“Mr. Flaherty failed to explain it. I will work very closely with the banks of Canada, I will work with our regulatory agencies to be sure we have an optimal situation under the consensus of today.
“It's not for politicians to direct the banks in Canada,” he said, taking a swipe at the NDP leader for “failing to understand that.” Mr. Layton has said that governments should demand that the banks follow the central bank.
