Ottawa, ON – David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon, commented today on Stéphane Dion’s permanent new carbon tax, which is being touted as a “revenue neutral Green Shift.”

“If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…” Tilson noted. “No matter how you look at it, this is a new tax on Canadians.”

“Not only that, but Dion’s only environmental policy doesn’t even begin to estimate a reduction in greenhouse gases,” Tilson stated. “It’s absurd.”

In response to Dion’s claim that the Liberals will not tax gasoline, Tilson said, “I guarantee you this will affect the price you pay at the pumps. Every carbon tax in Europe hits gas prices. The carbon tax in Quebec and British Columbia hits gas prices.”

“You cannot drive up the cost of transporting gas, groceries and everything else without hurting consumers,” Tilson stated. “You cannot prevent manufacturers, once taxed, from passing their losses onto their consumers.”

Dion is now challenging the Prime Minister to a debate on the issue. Tilson commented,

“If Mr. Dion wanted to have a debate with the Prime Minister he should have, for starters, shown up for Question Period during the last week that the House of Commons was sitting.”

The carbon tax is another huge flip-flop for Stéphane Dion. Back in 2006, it was “simply bad policy” and would need to be “prohibitively high.” Now it is his one and only policy for his party.