Harper predicts pain at gas pumps if Layton is in power

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Harper predicts pain at gas pumps should Layton grab share of power

Stephen Harper is warning an NDP-led coalition government would raid Canadians’ pocketbooks and savage the economy as the Conservative Leader tries to curb surging support for Jack Layton that imperils his long-sought Tory majority.

He’s predicting, for instance, that the NDP’s cap-and-trade system to restrict greenhouse gas emissions would boost gas prices in Canada by 10 cents a litre.

And he's cautioning that Mr. Layton could damage cross-border commerce with Canada’s biggest trading partner.

"The NDP has been Canada’s most consistent, most vociferous and most aggressive opponent of a strong trading relationship with the United States,” Mr. Harper warned during a campaign stop in Niagara Falls Thursday morning. “The NDP approach to issues like trade has not changed since the Cold War. It is an ideological throwback.”

The Tories are struggling to confront the rise in the polls for Mr. Layton and Mr. Harper only began sharpening his attack on the New Democrats Wednesday evening. Speaking in Niagara Falls Thursday morning, Mr. Harper said he hopes Canadians think carefully about how Layton’s policies would affect their tax burden and for the economy.

In Quebec, for instance, where the NDP is first in the polls, Mr. Harper said he can’t believe the provinces would embrace Mr. Layton if they read his platform.
He says he thinks the province would from tax and levy hikes promised in the NDP platform, from increase in premiums for the Canada Pension Plan to hikes in Employment Insurance levies to increased taxes on businesses.

“Quebeckers ... are one of the most overtaxed people in the world,” he said. “They are not, in my view, knowingly going to vote for a party or a coalition that will bring enormous tax increases on them at the federal level.” Mr. Harper is jetting to Quebec later Thursday to try to arrest an apparent plunge in Conservative support there.

The latest polling from Nanos Research shows the Tories with 36.6 per cent of national support followed by the NDP at 30.4 per cent and the Liberals far down at 21.4 per cent. In Quebec, Nanos suggests the NDP has soared to 42.5 per cent of voter support with the Bloc Quebecois lagging at 25.1 per cent and the Tories at 13.5 per cent.

The Conservatives are directing media to call University of Calgary economist Jack Mintz Thursday. Mr. Mintz says his calculations show the NDP’s proposal for a cap-and-trade system to restrict greenhouse gas emissions would add 10 cents a litre to gas prices in the early days and 18 cents a litre by 2014.

“The alternative the opposition offers, symbolized most dramatically by the NDP, are enormous increases in government expenses, the raising of taxes, the raising of prices, which we know will have a devastating effect on consumers’ pocket[books] and ultimately on our economy,” Mr. Harper warned.

He said his fundamental pitch to Canadians hasn’t changed with the NDP surge. Mr. Harper has since Day 1 of the campaign warned that unless he gets a majority, the opposition parties would unite to replace him with their own coalition.

Now, Mr. Harper says, it’s Mr. Layton that he believes would lead the charge. He predicts the coalition would lead to “higher taxes, higher spending and protectionism” in Canada. “Canadians need to understand how dramatically different the choices really are when you are looking at two Parliaments: one with a Conservative majority, the other a minority Parliament with a ramshackle coalition led by the NDP that will not last but will do a lot of destruction.”


Harper predicts pain at gas pumps should Layton grab share of power - The Globe and Mail
 

Durry

House Member
May 18, 2010
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Layton will be looking for every tax dollar he can find to support his spending habits!!
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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The gas hike doesn't really bug me. It would send a pretty important signal to people that we really need to overcome our dependency on oil. At least that loss of income is going toward something of better value - and yes, before you hound me, cap and trade (while not perfect) is more worthwhile than 65 F-35s.
 

wulfie68

Council Member
Mar 29, 2009
2,014
24
38
Calgary, AB
The gas hike doesn't really bug me. It would send a pretty important signal to people that we really need to overcome our dependency on oil. At least that loss of income is going toward something of better value - and yes, before you hound me, cap and trade (while not perfect) is more worthwhile than 65 F-35s.


Why do we need to "overcome our dependency on oil"? Its a commodity that we have in plentiful supply. Now if you said we need to work on making its extraction more environmentally friendly (yes there is a lot more the oil and gas companies could do on that front, especially in these days of record profits) or that we need to develop technology to make the utilization cleaner and more efficient(i.e. more complete combustion and utilization of the energy geenrated), I could agree with you but you don't: you want to ignore and get rid of one of the most lucrative industries we have in this country. I could agree with you if you said we need to get the provinces to reform their industries and the way rights are granted, to ensure the citizens reap the rewards. We're not going to get rid of hydrocarbon based fuels in the short or even medium term because we have nothing to replace them with.

And no, cap and trade isn't anything except a tool to let more scams occur: if you want to clean up the environment, you do it through R&D not some shell game BS designed to ensure job security for more bean counters. I don't support a "carbon tax" (we already pay them through existing taxes on various petroleum products, so why do we need another one?) but at least that might have a concrete end result (i.e. more funds in the coffers for programs) as opposed to the fake benefits of the carbon cap and trade garbage.
 

Durry

House Member
May 18, 2010
4,709
286
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Canada
I think AB should put a tax on all the oil it sends to Ont & Quebec.
They whine the most so they should pay the most tax, even more than they already pay.
All tax revenues from this tax should then go directly to AB residence.
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Why do we need to "overcome our dependency on oil"? Its a commodity that we have in plentiful supply.

It will be depleted within the next 100 - 150 years.
We'll be seriously screwed if we don't starting changing soon.

And no, cap and trade isn't anything except a tool to let more scams occur: if you want to clean up the environment, you do it through R&D not some shell game BS designed to ensure job security for more bean counters. I don't support a "carbon tax" (we already pay them through existing taxes on various petroleum products, so why do we need another one?) but at least that might have a concrete end result (i.e. more funds in the coffers for programs) as opposed to the fake benefits of the carbon cap and trade garbage.

Cap and trade is not a perfect system, but it will help a little.

Ultimately, I'd prefer the carbon tax combined with forcing industry emissions reductions as the only way to curb this. Nothing less than a complete reorganisation of society and technology to leave most remaining fossil fuels safely underground.

This is always painted by the right as some really scary economic prospect, but really, it's not. It's a matter of slowly reducing the emissions and gradually reducing our dependency in such a way that the the economy can regulate itself.

10 cents per litre is a pretty forgiveable sacrifice to make.
 

Unforgiven

Force majeure
May 28, 2007
6,770
137
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Layton would get us started moving on alternative energy. Better in the long run and we could use all the oil we have not without fear of running out. We should be doing our own refining anyway. Far too much of what we have we send out and buy back as a finished product.
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
7,815
65
48
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Oshawa
The gas hike doesn't really bug me. It would send a pretty important signal to people that we really need to overcome our dependency on oil. At least that loss of income is going toward something of better value - and yes, before you hound me, cap and trade (while not perfect) is more worthwhile than 65 F-35s.

Cap and trade is BS, open to corruption and we don't need that.

A carbon tax is the way to go, the income from which would be used to help people on fixed incomes and the poor to deal with the cost difference while at the same time used to build a greener infastructure.
 

Durry

House Member
May 18, 2010
4,709
286
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Canada
The only thing Layton would start us going down is the poor house. His policies would kill the oil industries, even worse than that idiot Truedau did !!
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
7,815
65
48
54
Oshawa
Layton would get us started moving on alternative energy. Better in the long run and we could use all the oil we have not without fear of running out. We should be doing our own refining anyway. Far too much of what we have we send out and buy back as a finished product.

Running out isn't the current worry, the current problem is have a clean enviroment and the long term effects of global warming.

There is a book out now that suggests that when we have another iceage in about 50,000 years we won't have any carbon left to prevent it because dopey Can'tservatives won't stop burning it.

The only thing Layton would start us going down is the poor house. His policies would kill the oil industries, even worse than that idiot Truedau did !!

Are you really this stupid?
 

Unforgiven

Force majeure
May 28, 2007
6,770
137
63
The only thing Layton would start us going down is the poor house. His policies would kill the oil industries, even worse than that idiot Truedau did !!

No they won't they will make them much better. Bushco put big oil on the table, Harper just cashed in.
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
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63
Nakusp, BC
Jack will cause gas prices to go up 10 cents? They are predicting $1.50 - 1.60 by this summer. Whose watch is it right now? Conservatives are getting desperate that their Massa won't get his majority. Waaaaaa!
 

ironsides

Executive Branch Member
Feb 13, 2009
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United States
 

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
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Why do we need to "overcome our dependency on oil"?

First off, we don't have a plentiful supply. Second, the fluctuations in price alone would be a fine reason to move away from oil. Third, oil money funds terrorism and corrupt regimes. Fourth, being dependent on a single source for so much of our economy hinders diversification, again making changes in price, or other disruptions more widespread and more painful than they might otherwise be.

For starters, and without even mentioning the environmental harms it does cause.
 

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
11,285
480
83
59
Alberta
Cap and trade is BS, open to corruption and we don't need that.

A carbon tax is the way to go, the income from which would be used to help people on fixed incomes and the poor to deal with the cost difference while at the same time used to build a greener infastructure.

I highly doubt that the government would do what it says it would do with a carbon tax. Gas taxes are supposed to pay for roads and guess what? They don't and it doesn't matter what political stripe of government. Layton would be no different than Harper or Ignatieff or even Elizabeth May. Once that cash flows into Ottawa it will end up in general revenue and bleed into a myriad of projects.

Thinking that Jack Layton will be slugging out for the little guy is beyond naive. It will be Bob Rae all over again, but at a National level and quite possibly worse because I suspect that the NDP is so unprepared to run this Country that they will sink us into a huge mess. You can criticize the Loberals and the Conservatives all you want, but they have run this Country on many occasions and it is a lot easier to sit in opposition and snipe about what a Utopia your party will offer.

Once you are put in the breach its another story altogether.

Perhaps this is the great lesson all the young idealists in Canada need to learn, but the casualties will be large in this particular lesson and I'd bet a couple paychecks on that. If your on the Left I recommend you vote Liberal and if you are on the right you better not sit home because this particular wind of change might just tear apart your way of living.

I know fear-mongering.