More Spin From Goodale

"Goodale said he was aware that some people see the Green Shift as a tax grab, but said emphatically that it is not.

"In fact, it reduces more taxes than what we collect in the form of the carbon levy. This goes directly into people's pocketbooks.

"Every Saskatchewan taxpayer will get a tax cut, and a very significant one."


Of the estimated $3 billion Green Shift will cost Saskatchewan taxpayers, not including the loss of jobs and damage to the economy, Goodale claims that we would save more than that in taxes?

Prove it! (The problem with journalists is that they don't ask for the numbers.)



As an aside, does anyone else find it odd that the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce invites a Liberal MP to speak to their luncheon when, if implemented, Green Shift will destroy the provincial economy and every business person in that room?

This is the same brilliant mindset that invited former NDP Minister Dwain Lingenfelter speak, not once but twice, to the North Saskatoon Business Association. Lingenfelter who regularly attends NDP conventions, is a potential candidate for the provincial NDP leadership. The CCF/NDP once vowed to "eradicate capitalism" in the Regina Manifesto, a document that is still proudly displayed on the current NDP website.

And the NSBA allows Lingefelter to use them as a forum?

The fact that these two "business groups" invite people that represent organizations that would destroy them for political gain, proves that they are both absolutely irrelevant when protecting or promoting the needs of Saskatchewan business.

The respective members of these two groups should either vote out both boards, or choke them off financially by refusing to support them any longer until they once again become business friendly and politically savvy.

Hopefully, It'll Swing One Riding

Goodale's...

Making It Up As They Go Along

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said Wednesday he would impose tariffs on imports from countries that Canada deems are not doing enough in the battle against global warming.

Even some of Dion's own caucus aren't buying it.

Liberal Finance critic John McCallum has already confessed that “no Canadian will be unharmed” by the costs Canadians will have to absorb on electricity, home heating fuel and diesel fuel. And Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter and two of his caucus colleagues flatly rejected Dion’s Carbon Tax saying it will impose an unsustainable financial hardship on farmers and farm families.

But thank goodness Saskatchewan has Ralph Goodale, the Liberal MP that doesn't care about wreaking havoc amongst his constituents as long at the Liberals manage to convince enough voters in Ontario to vote for Dion's wealth distribution plan called Green Shift.

There has to be a way to impeach MPs like Goodale...

Gearing Up For A Scrap

Michelle Hunter, the CPC candidate in Regina Wascana, exposes Goodale's less than truthful comments about Green Shift.

"It is time for Liberal MP Ralph Goodale to come clean and tell the truth to Saskatchewan voters.

In an article in the July 4, Leader-Post, Goodale claimed Saskatchewan would not carry a "disproportionate burden" of the Liberals' green shift.

This is utterly untrue. Saskatchewan and Alberta produce 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. The tax is on carbon and 40 per cent of the tax revenue generated will come from Saskatchewan and Alberta. With Saskatchewan's population, we will be paying, per capita, far more than other parts of the country. It is a tax grab will take hundreds of millions of dollars out of the Saskatchewan economy and pay back a very small amount.

There is also no guarantee that the Liberal program will reduce carbon emissions in Canada at all. This "carbon shaft" is a massive tax grab to finance wasteful Liberal spending.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is investing in the Saskatchewan economy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions including support of our biofuels industry and contributing $250 million dollars toward clean coal technology. This is real money with real support and will have a real effect on the environment.

It is time for Goodale to stand up for Saskatchewan and be more than a simple mouthpiece for a tax grab. Goodale needs to defend Saskatchewan, and not help those who attack us."

Looks like Ralph's got a fight on his hands...

Good on you, Ms. Hunter for speaking on behalf of the residents of Wascana, as opposed to speaking for the Liberal Party of Canada as the existing MP does.

Green Shift Full Court Press!

Do you think it's easy to load websites? Check out the Tax Tag page. Hilarious...

Liberal Loose Lips

"To be sure, the Green Shift would be hard to defend. Nowhere in its nearly 50 pages do the Liberals actually explain how their proposed new taxes would stop global warming. Far more space is given over to how Mr. Dion and his party intend to spend the new green taxes on expensive social engineering schemes."

When will Ralph Goodale stand up for the people of Saskatchewan and admit he was being less than truthful in defending Green Shift as an environmental policy? This is about transferring the wealth of all those that don't have a gold plated MP pension.

A Fall Election?

Lorne Gunter is the last columnist to lay waste to Green Shift.

The more this plan is explained by Liberal MP's, the more that Canadians are questioning the actual intent of the program. Despite Ralph Goodale's false claims that Saskatchewan will be net benefactors in the long run, the damage this plan will do to the economy will be immense.

This morning on JGL, Gormley adds up the math for MP Ken Boschcoff. Of the $15 billion in taxes generated, only $3 billion will actually be used for green projects. The rest will be used for Liberal social programs, like universal day care. Since Saskatchewan is no longer dependent on Ottawa for equalization and only has approximately 3% of the population, but contributes with Alberta to produce 40% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, how on earth could this even out?

Both Dion and Goodale proclaimed that our universities would benefit from green energy R/D, but if we have 3% of the money allocated of the $3 billion, that amounts to $90 million dollars. But our companies and industries will be taxed roughly $3 billion.

Goodale and company are trying to sell us a bill of goods that will destroy those of us that don't have a federal MP's pension to fall back on.

Prime Minister Harper and the Conservatives need trigger a fall election and eliminate the threat of Dion, the Liberals and Green Shift.

And Saskatchewan needs to make Ralph pay politically for his defense of the indefensible.

Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff on JGL

I will post the link to the actual interview audio when NewsTalk 980 posts is one their websites.

Gormley had Boschcoff spinning in circles. Why he would agree to appear on JGL is beyond me. Kudos for showing up, but...

Pay particular attention to Gormley's question about the amount left over for actual environmental programs. Wow!!!

UPDATE: Gormley/Bischcoff interview audio

UPDATE #2: Gormley gives his thoughts on the Boschcoff interview

It's Official - Harper Recognizes Dion's Green "Shaft" Plan

"Dion's carbon tax is not an environment policy. It is just a wealth redistribution program disguised as an environment policy," Harper told the crowd. "The Green Shift is a green shaft and we must never let it happen to our country."

The Prime Minister has now officially said what Dion and Goodale have denied all along (although I suspect Harper is more confident after Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff let the cat out of the bag as to the true nature of Green Shift).

It's time to go to the polls and get rid of this new Liberal scourge that is threatening to destroy Canada.

An Honest Liberal?

Or a Liberal that didn't bother to read the "the real reason (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) is the environment" memo.

Green Shift is a wealth transfer plan, plain and simple. The plan is about funding Liberal social programs for Liberal votes. And those aren't in Saskatchewan or Alberta.

And Ralph Goodale knows that, while trying to sucker Saskatchewan into voting for a plan that wouldcut our own throats...

It's time to go, Ralph.

h/t SDA


UPDATE: Edmonton Journal picks up the story

Bob Rae In Moose Jaw... Why?

The former NDP Premier/Liberal leadership contender was trying to promote Green Shift in Saskatchewan.

Did he forget that the NDP were hoisted out of here a few months back with the lowest popular vote ever recorded since the CCF were formed? I don't think this is fertile ground for Eastern delusions any longer. But thanks for playing, and please take a "Snakes and Ladders" board game home as a consolation.

h/t John Murney

"It's Deplorable"

... but we're willing to settle!

So much for the courage of their convictions.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Liberal Party of Canada are irredeemably unethical. Plain and simple...

The Great Liberal Trademark Heist

is now in the hands of the lawyers. It's merely an $8.5 million law suit

It's nothing a broken Liberal Party can't manage.


UPDATE: Dion calls 'Green Shift' lawsuit 'deplorable'

"Wright said she delivered a statement of claim at the Liberal party headquarters Wednesday morning seeking $8.5 million "in general and special damages" and another $250,000 for aggravated and punitive damages.

The suit also seeks a court injunction to stop the Liberals from using the phrase "Green Shift." Wright said the trademark has been approved, but has not yet been registered with the federal government. "

They can't afford this lawsuit. Hell, the Liberals can't even afford by-elections.

Absolutely Unacceptable!

Where is the outcry, not from the media or the public, but from the Liberal Party of Canada on this?

Liberals make jokes about murdering Stephen and Laureen Harper

There should be jail time for this!

When Will Goodale Do The Right Thing?

"Today, hours before Stephane Dion launches his carbon tax attack on Canadians, Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter and two of his caucus colleagues flatly rejected Stephane Dion’s Carbon Tax saying it will impose an unsustainable financial hardship on farmers and farm families. During a meeting of the Parliamentary Agricultural Committee today, Liberal MPs Wayne Easter, Omar Alghabra, and Lloyd St. Amand voted in favour of a Conservative Government motion to protect Canadian farm families from a Mr. Dion’s punitive, regressive Carbon Tax."

Other Liberal MP's are willing to stand up for their constituents.

Why won't Goodale stand up for Wascana?

The Shifty Green

Awesome!

Add Bronwyn Eyre ...

to the growing list of columnists that oppose Dion's "Green Shift"

"The NEP aside, I guess we westerners are supposed to forget Dion -- a woefully ineffective federal environment minister -- once said a carbon tax was "bad policy." Now, with the scientific jury still out on whether carbon dioxide even constitutes a significant greenhouse gas, Dion wants CO2 emissions at 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. This would entail removing the equivalent of the entire Canadian transportation sector (including personal vehicle use) and electronic utility sector in just over a decade."

Dion Cutting "Special Deals" on Green Shift

CTV's Question Period, July 06th

"Mr. Dion actually called me and said there would not be double taxation that he does not want to impose something that will not work on British Columbians" - Gordon Campbell, BC Premier

What about imposing something that will not work on Albertans? Saskatchewanians?

This double dealing once again shows the true nature of Dion and the Liberal Party of Canada.

Actually, This Commentary Exposes Ralph's Fears

Note; Links added to discredit Goodale's commentary...




THE HONOURABLE RALPH GOODALE, M.P (WASCANA)
310 University Park Drive, regina, Sk., S4V 0Y8
Telephone: (306) 585-2202
Facsimile: (306) 585-2280
E-mail: Goodale@sasktel.net

July 7th, 2008

For Immediate Release
WEEKLY COMMENTARY
By Ralph Goodale, M.P.

CONSERVATIVE LIES EXPOSE THEIR FEARS

The lies and smears used by Conservatives to attack Stephane Dion’s tax reform proposals show how worried the Harper government is about the Dion plan catching on.

The principle is simple – we should cut taxes on the good things that we want more of (like incomes, investment and innovation), and we should begin to collect taxes on those things that are harmful (like pollution, waste and greenhouse gases).

Across the country, the vast majority of economists and environmental experts agree that Dion is right and Harper is wrong.

The “disinformation” the Conservatives are peddling has been discredited as “vitriolic” and “dishonest”.

Their biggest allegation is that putting any price on carbon pollution would discriminate against western Canada due to our large concentration of fossil fuel industries. But the Dion plan is designed to avoid such unfairness.

For example, in the case of Saskatchewan’s petroleum industry, two-thirds of our oil is directly exported to the United States and consequently would not be subject to any “carbon tax” in Canada.

The remaining one-third is processed into fuel products, mostly gasoline, and gasoline at-the-pump is explicitly exempted from Mr. Dion’s proposal, because it’s already subject to an equivalent federal excise tax.

Moreover, the “carbon tax” suggested by Mr. Dion would NOT be levied at the wellhead level. To do so would place all the responsibility on the oil and gas sector, and that would not be reasonable.

Instead, the Dion plan would apply the tax at the wholesale level which spreads the overall impact among producers and consumers alike, and balances the costs across all sectors and regions.

And one final point, this “Green Shift” plan uses every penny raised from putting a price on carbon pollution for substantial income tax cuts benefiting every Canadian family and business.
-30-



No matter what Goodale is claiming, the Green Shift program is wrong for Canada. At best, it will destroy our economy, and at worst irrevocably tear apart our country.

We have to ensure the Liberals never get a chance to implement it.

Goodale Talks A Big Game...

when he's spending YOUR money

It's not like he isn't getting paid enough to contribute to his party.

Maybe, there aren't enough programs he can contribute to...

Goodale wants voters to believe in the Liberal Party of Canada. Why doesn't he?

h/t SDA

Canadians Aren't Buying What The Liberals Are Selling

"Unsurprisingly, negative reaction was highest in Alberta at 79 per cent, followed by Atlantic Canada, 62 per cent; B.C., 61 per cent; Ontario, 60 per cent; Saskatchewan and Manitoba, 58 per cent and Quebec 46 per cent."

A couple of things surprise me about this poll.

The first is that the negative reaction in Saskatchewan is so low (undoubtedly the Green Shift plan is supported by most NDP voters; they would love nothing more than to see Saskatchewan in financial hardship as a result of this plan).

The second is that the support in Ontario for the plan is so low. Did the Liberals miscalculate the hatred for the West by Ontario?

As a matter of fact, only Quebec supported the plan more than 50%.

There's a quick way to fix that. Tell Quebecers that all smokers will be taxed as an effort to save the environment. That should end any potential support for Green Shift.

Isn't That How Whores Work?

I'm surprised you don't call them via a 1-900 number

"The plan asks Liberals to commit to monthly contributions to the party, a riding association or both, on a scale that ranges from $5 to $91.66. In return, supporters are invited to 120 hours a year of online chats with senior Liberal MPs and executives."

Hello, you've reached the offices of the Liberal Party of Canada. Me so horny...

"I can't accept that your reputation is damaged, as it is now."

Dion motivates a province to vote for the Liberals. Not the one he was speaking in, of course...

The people of Alberta should be asking the following question immediately, "Damaged, as defined by whom?"

The political manoeuvring is quite evident here. Dion is willing to lose what little support he has in the West, to win over Ontario through regional politicization of the environmental issue.

We'll give him what he wants when it come to Goodale.

But one can only hope that Ontario voters are wise enough to see this ploy for what it is and reject Dion and his party for the good of Canada.

Liberal Modus Operandi

Canadian vs. Canadian



"While our two provinces have only 13 per cent of Canada's population, he pointed out, we produce 40 per cent of the country's greenhouse gases. He placed no blame, of course, on central Canadian consumers (and voters) whose demand for our energy drives our production and thus our emissions.


We're not producing carbon for the fun of it, but Stephane Dion would like to leave the rest of Canada with the impression we are. It would make it so much easier for him to sell his new "Green Shift" tax scheme if he could convince central Canadians that a disproportionate burden will fall on the West and that we've got it coming.



...



This is an old Liberal tactic: Equate Liberal policy with the national interest so that anyone who disagrees can be portrayed as an enemy of national unity and not merely an opponent of Liberal ideas."



Make no mistake about it. The LPOC would bring the country to the brink of disaster in order to acheive their poltical goals.

Dion Defends Trademark Heist ... Again

"But the Toronto-based firm, whose founder Jennifer Wright says the Liberals failed to respond to a cease-and-desist order by a deadline last week, is moving closer to a full-blown lawsuit that could add to the growing potential legal damages the opposition Grits are facing.

...

Liberal party officials were still reviewing Green Shift's cease-and-desist letter, a spokesperson said Thursday. On Wednesday, in his first public comments over the dispute, Dion said, "I don't think we're hurting them at all."

Regardless of whether Dion et al think they are hurting Green Shift is not the issue. The issue is that the Liberal Party of Canada is so arrogant (or obtuse) to believe that they can hijack an existing trademark for political purposes without legal consequences.

Mind you, this "above the law" thinking has always been modus operandi for the LPOC.

We here are Goodale Watch are looking forward to Green Shift's pending lawsuit and will keep our readers up to date.

We're Getting Noticed!

"A recent Conservative Party press release contained various statements Goodale made in the late 1990s about a carbon tax not being part of the Liberal plan, accusing Goodale of "flip flopping and trying to fool the people of Saskatchewan."

An anonymous blog aimed at unseating Goodale in his Wascana riding -- it uses "It's time to go, Ralph," as its headline -- also lists the same quotes."

It looks like we've caught the eye of the Leader Post and Canwest. h/t to John Murney and to SDA for their attention and linking to this blog.

Finally, I want to thank Goodale himself for comments such as the following...

"What (Liberal leader Stephane) Dion has proposed is this tax reform plan that shifts the burden away from income and onto something that everyone would regard as undesirable, that is pollution. It was not any kind of a rebalancing of the tax system or a shifting of the burden that was under discussion 10 years ago," Goodale said."

This blog would have never been created had it not been for Goodale's constant attempts at trying to spin the fine people of Saskatchewan for the benefit of himself and the Liberal Party of Canada. We deserve much better than this.

To reiterate, "It's time to go, Ralph"

Goodale - Provincial NDP Leader?

Over at GPM, speculation over who might be taking over the provincial NDP leadership ...

"Ralph Goodale

Pros: Name recognition, lot of support from New Democrats federaly.

Cons: He is a Liberal MP, enough said.Analysis: I would be kind of surprised if Ralph jumped ship (I think he has his eye on the Federal Leadership next time around) but I heard his name mentioned by a number of people in Regina so I am including him on my list."

Personally, I think this is a non-starter.

But I think it's hilarious to see his name mentioned by someone in the blogosphere as a possible contender. It also shows that the Liberals and the NDP are basically the same party as a result of the Liberals movement to the left of the political spectrum.

Our pick as the person who will probably get the nod is Dwain Lingenfelter.

Lingenfelter has political and business experience and has been hanging out at NDP conventions since his "retirement" from politics. He has spoken to one particular business group (the NSBA) in Saskatoon a couple of times in the past year, most likely to seek their support in the upcoming NDP leadership campaign, and next provincial election slated for 2011.

What Language Will the Debate Be In?

My guess? Frenglish...

Dion challenges PM to carbon tax debate

As Gormley mentioned this morning, let's have a debate after the writ has been dropped.

We'll see what Canadians really think of "Green Shift" with $1.60+ per litre gas prices.

Canadian vs. Canadian - The Liberal Re-Election Strategy

Green tax plan setting stage for east-west conflict

"If the Liberals should happen to win the next federal election on this platform, it's pretty clear the country is in for the kind of east-west confrontation it hasn't seen in 30 years."

Saskatoon Star Phoenix - July 03rd/2008

Do You See A Pattern of Behavior Emerging?

"These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized." - Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)



"In a March 27th, 1995 letter to David Dingwall (then Minister of Public Works and Government Services), Ralph Goodale (then Minister of Agriculture) asked for a special favour:
In order to respond to the issue in time our department will need to sole source a contract to conduct the necessary survey and analysis work amongst both the general prairie public and the farm population. I wish to contract with The Earnscliffe Strategy Group to conduct this survey which will cost under $50,000. The company’s knowledge of the policy file gained from previous research permits the rapid turnaround on issues such as methodology and issues to be explored during the survey. Also, the primary consultant to be involved is from Saskatchewan and has an excellent background in prairie agriculture.

A sole source contract to Earnscliffe? The primary consultant is from Saskatchewan? The primary consultant was likely David Herle who it turns out, was Ralph Goodale’s driver and a close aide when Goodale was leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party."

Although this was a post originally by Stephen Taylor in 2006, when you compare Goodale's behavior with the Green Shift stance, the Cadman affair, his budget "analysis", Goodale cannot help himself.

He deliberately distorts, spins, and is less than forthcoming all the while accusing the Conservative Party of acting in that same manner. He acts in a manner that would never be accepted in the outside world.

Ralph has been an MP and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada for far too long.

In other words, Ralph has become institutionalized. It's time to bring him back into the real world.

Who's Actually Paying for the Green Shift?

Well, it depends on where you live, (or how desperate your MP is to keep his job) ...

• In Ontario, Stephane Dion says Saskatchewan and Alberta will pay: Stéphane Dion says 40 per cent of Canada's carbon emissions come from Alberta and Saskatchewan and the two western provinces will have to do the most to change their habits under his new green plan (Globe and Mail, June 27, 2008)

• In Saskatchewan, Dion says Ontario and Quebec will pay: “Also, the carbon tax liability for those emissions in many case will fall outside Saskatchewan. … in Ontario with their concentration of…and Quebec. (John Gormley Live, News 650, June 27, 2008)

• In Saskatchewan, Dion says Toronto will pay: “Many of these emissions are in the hands of stakeholders that are in Toronto or elsewhere in the world, not in Saskatchewan” (John Gormley Live, News 650, June 27, 2008)

• In Saskatchewan, Goodale says Ontario and Quebec will pay: "While Saskatchewan is a place where many greenhouse gas emissions arise, the carbon tax liability for many of those emissions will fall outside this province, especially in Ontario and Quebec with their concentration of corporate head offices,'' Goodale said. (Leader-Post, June 27, 2008)

• Or, Goodale says Toronto and Calgary will pay: Even if the volume of greenhouse gases created in Saskatchewan by the oil and coal sectors is proportionately high, those who will pay for it are head offices in Calgary and Toronto, Goodale said (StarPhoenix, June 21, 2008)

• Or, Goodale says, Ontario and Alberta will pay: "While Saskatchewan is a place where many greenhouse gas emission arise, the carbon tax liability for many of those emissions will fall outside the province -- especially in Ontario an Alberta with their concentration of corporate head offices in the fossil fuels sector." (Leader-Post, June 28, 2008)

• In Nova Scotia, Mark Eyking say Alberta will pay: Last week Sydney-Victoria Liberal MP Mark Eyking defended his boss's green tax shift, saying it will extract a much heavier toll on companies operating in Alberta's oil sands than in the Atlantic provinces. (Cape Breton Post, June 28, 2008)

• In Nova Scotia, Scott Brison says the federal government will cover the costs: The federal Liberals are ready to cushion the impact the party's green tax shift would have on Nova Scotia, Grit MP Scott Brison said Tuesday (Chronicle-Herald, June 25, 2008)

In other words, in every jurisdiction in Canada, the other guy is paying the tax for Green Shift. Meanwhile, the jurisdiction a Liberal Party MP happens to be speaking in on that day will reap the benefits.

Such is the true nature of Dion, Goodale, Eyking, Brison and the Liberal Party of Canada; create regional rivalries, make Canadians stand against Canadians, for the sole purpose of attaining power once more.

This has never been about Canada, it's people, or the environment.

It's about them...

Goodale Spins Green Shift - CTV Regina June 30th - News at Noon

"MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
Joining me is Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale, also the Liberal MP for Regina Wascana.

We've been hearing a lot about this new Liberal environment plan. You call it the Green Shift. Our Energy Minister calls it the Green Shaft and very unkind things have been said about it. It's been called a carbon tax. It's been called sort of a -- a new version of the old national energy program. I'm not hearing a lot of good things about it, Ralph. Why are you championing it?

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Well, we have a lot of work to do to make sure it's clearly understood. And basically the principle is very simple. You should generally tax less those things that you want more of, like income and investment, and you should tax more the things you want less of like pollution and waste. 1 - In this country, we have the reverse situation where the heaviest taxes are imposed on the good things, like income while pollution, greenhouse gas emissions are not taxed at all. If you can shift that paradigm, lessen the burden on income and shift it over to something like pollution, you will actually result in a greener economy, a greener environment and a more productive economy.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
Right.

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Because incomes will be -- will be less burdened.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
Now, we are resource-based economy in Saskatchewan. We've suffered for decades. Finally, we've got things going on. We've got a boom happening, and the Liberals are holding this out there and people are saying, well, this is no good, it's all the stuff that is happening now for Saskatchewan that is going to be hit by that tax.

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Well, actually --

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
That's going to hurt.

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Well, actually -- actually not, Manny, and I think it's important to understand how the -- how the tax falls here. 2 - Because this is not a retail tax at the consumer level, it's -- it's a wholesale tax upstream. The burden for collecting that tax, and remitting it will be on -- will be on up-stream companies, essentially in the fossil fuels sector. 3 - Most of those head offices are not located in Saskatchewan. They are in Alberta or in Ontario, or, in many cases, in the United States. So that's where the -- that's where the burden for remitting the tax will fall, even though the emissions occur in Saskatchewan, the burden of the tax falls largely outside of Saskatchewan, plus, all of the revenue that's collected, whether it's from within the company or from the 46% of our resources that are exported. So roughly speaking, 46% of this revenue will come from other countries, especially the United States. All of that will be redistributed in lower income taxes. For the average Saskatchewan family, we would estimate the new cost burden after four years would perhaps be something in the $350 to $400 range, everything included, but the tax cut for that average Saskatchewan family would be about $1,350, in other words, three times more coming back than would be going out.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
Isn't it an awkward position to be in, though, to be defending something as you try to regain power? Whereas Stephen Harper said some very unkind words, our Energy minister has said unkind words, anybody in the West you talk to says this is just a bad deal.

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Well, well, it's not everybody in the West. When you think of, for example, Jack Mince from the University of Calgary, comes from Alberta, probably the preeminent economist in this country when it comes to tax and fiscal matters, he supports this approach. Tom Courchane, he discovered all of those inequities in the Saskatchewan equalization situation, he supports this approach. John Drummond who is the chief economist for the Toronto Dominion Bank says that is makes sense.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
You have to get the people to understand that it makes sense.

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
That's the critical challenge.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
Can you do it?

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
I think so, I think show. I mean, the principle is very simple. Tax less, things like income, shift the paradigm over to the things you want less of, and make sure that it's fair and equitable among individuals, which it will be. 4 - Lower and middle income people will actually be receiving back more than they would be sending out, and make sure that the parts of this country that are the most carbon intensive, like Saskatchewan and Alberta, have that investment in new science, new technology, the new ways of doing things in what is a carbon constrained world, not just Canada, this is global. We have to get ahead of that curve.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
We like the new way things are going on in Saskatchewan right now. Let's not mess with that.

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Well this, is -- this is going to actually promote a lot of the objectives that Premier Wall has talked about. He's talked about opening the Saskatchewan power grid to independent power producers. 5 - This plan will not only support that, it will provide incentives to encourage it. He's talked about value-added investments in the nuclear sector. This plan will support that as well. He's talked about the need to make sure that we've got carbon capture and sequestration systems, clean coal, this plan will support everyone of those things to make sure that we've got the most sophisticated energy program and we can show the world how to run a resource-based economy in the most profitable and developmentally sound way.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
One final question, then. The opponents of this, are they just out and out lying?

RALPH GOODALE (Regina Wascana MP):
Well, it’s a complicated plan. It takes time for people to understand all of the details, all of the nuances. 6 - Many of the people who were devising the plan took awhile before it became evident that the tax burden here, the new tax burden that will be created largely fell outside Saskatchewan, not inside Saskatchewan, which -- which largely eliminates the regional unfairness argument from a Saskatchewan the point of view. So there are details. It needs to be explained clearly. We'll be working hard to make sure that happens, and listening to make sure that the feedback comes back where there are errors, they will be corrected.

MANFRED JOEHNCK (Anchor):
All right, thank you so much for joining us and explaining the Liberal Green Shift Plan."

Numbers have been inputted by goodalewatch for reference..

1. Ralph is neglecting to mention that these companies are already paying federal, provincial and municipal taxes, simply for doing business in a Canadian jurisdiction. The Green Shift penalty is a new tax that didn't exist before. Which brings us to point two...


2. Every tax is paid by the consumer as a cost of doing business. If a new tax is imposed on a multi-national, do you think they're just going to absorb it? For a former finance minister to try and fool regular Canadians that this isn't the case is plain dishonesty


3. As per a previous post, this simply isn't true...


4. Most middle income people don't work at Universities or research facilities where they might benefit from new research dollars. But most working people use energy, which will ultimately increase more than any potential tax rebate or reduction than is being offered under this plan.


5. This plan will tax Saskatchewan to the point where R&D dollars will diminish because of the harm to the economy. That's what happens in a recession. Government's focus in helping citizens first. Case in point; while the environment is important, as a result of the energy crisis, individuals are more focused in on gas prices than "going green". Feeding your family today is a lot more relevant than your great-great grand kids.


6. For the points listed above, it eliminates no argument about fairness for Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan will end up as Alberta did in 1980. There is no doubt about it. As referenced this morning on John Murney's blog, this plan is a redistribution of wealth for Liberal social policies under the guise of doing something good for the environment. That's all

Ralph Goodale's utter disregard for the intelligence of Saskatchewan people is unbelievable. His arrogance is astounding. He must be held accountable and the only people to do it are the electorate in Wascana. One hopes that happens in the next federal election.