Politics; HIEBERT: DION’S TAX PLAN IS ‘WRONG, DECEPTIVE AND UNTRUSTWORTHY’

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 20, 2008

HIEBERT: DION’S TAX PLAN IS ‘WRONG, DECEPTIVE AND UNTRUSTWORTHY’

OTTAWA – Local MP Russ Hiebert today warned Surrey and White Rock residents about Liberal Leader Stephane Dion’s new tax plan, saying it is "wrong, deceptive and untrustworthy."

"It is wrong-minded," Hiebert explained, "because rather than protecting Canadians from rising fuel and energy costs, this new Liberal tax grab will increase the cost of just about everything."

Hiebert noted that the cost to operate any device that uses diesel will increase significantly: tractors on farms, trucks that deliver, boats, trains and planes. "Everything we eat, wear, and use will be affected. The cost of everything will go up," Hiebert said.

"Even gasoline will be affected," Hiebert added, "because natural gas, subject to these new taxes, is used in the refining process, not to mention that many houses depend on natural gas for heating."

"You cannot drive up the cost of transporting gas, groceries and everything else without hurting the people who depend on these services," Hiebert said. "You cannot prevent manufacturers, once taxed, from passing their losses on to customers."

"Secondly," Hiebert continued, "this tax plan is deceptive. Dion is deceiving people when he says this tax plan will be revenue neutral. Even people in his own party don’t believe it."

Hiebert pointed out that the plan has faced significant criticism from all sides, including those who have supported the idea of a carbon tax in the past. Marc Jaccard, a leading carbon-tax expert, has stated that under the Liberal plan "some people will be better off and some won’t." Dion’s own finance critic, Liberal MP John McCallum, was forced to admit, "I cannot say to you that no Canadian will be unharmed by this."

"Most of all," Hiebert pointed out, "we simply can’t trust him. This new tax plan is coming from a guy who was a minister in the government that promised to ‘scrap, abolish and eliminate the GST.’ He’s already flip-flopped on his new tax plan since 2006."

Hiebert referred to Mr. Dion’s about-face when, in 2006, he called the idea of a carbon tax "bad policy" and stated that. "In the energy market, in particular, soaring prices make anything but a prohibitively high tax a mere nuisance for large producers." Just last fall, during the Liberal leadership race, Dion promised not to bring in a carbon tax.

"Conversely," Hiebert concluded, "our Conservative government’s plan has clear targets to reduce greenhouse gases, is based on proven economic principles and comes from a government that has delivered on our promises. I sure hope Canadians don’t fall for Dion’s trick."

For more information, please contact Mike Martens, Russ Hiebert's Office, at (604) 542-9495.