The Other Shoe Drops: NEP II is Here (and Ignored)

Let's start off with the good news. Liberal leader Stephane Dion's latest attempt at creating some sort of image for himself has, like all of the previous attempts, fallen completely flat. In what is fast becoming the political world's equivalent of a sitcom, the latest episode of the Life and Times of a Silly Liberal Leader has the main character reaching into his own party's past and pulling one out from the ol' historical playbook.

Some things in life are a guarantee: death, taxes, and the federal Liberals concocting an Alberta cash grab when the oil-producing province's economy is booming. If you know Alberta you know about the National Energy Program of the Trudeau era, and the long-term economic damage it created. Despite the sales pitch by the feds, the N.E.P. turned out to be what Albertan's knew it was all along - a federally-mandated distribution of wealth. In AlbertaSpeak, we call it 'theft'.

Now we have the current Liberal leader in a situation he seems desperate to shake. Worse than becoming the butt of jokes or a politician with outrageously bad ideas, Dion has found himself actually being ignored by media and public alike. It isn't that he has an offensive or disturbing presence, it's that he doesn't register at all (even with members of his own party).

The impression is that the Lib's let the hapless loser hold the controls until the next 'real' leader (Justin Trudeau?) is ready.

Dion and his people, in a last ditch effort to take some steam away from the Harper-led Conservative machine, has again concocted an Alberta cash-grab program, this time dressed in the appealing and trendy cloak of environmentalism.

Dion's 'Green Shift' is the latest Liberal wolf in sheep's clothing. Designed to tug on Canadians tree hugging heart strings, even a quick look at some of the claims contained within the plan ring hollow. Economists from around the country have come out and discredited the numbers as well as the outrageous claim that Alberta's economy would actually benefit.

Even some of Dion's own MPs are coming out and admitting that the Green Shift is nothing more than an 'anti-poverty' program, designed to take money from the oilpatch and distribute it out to the masses.

It should be noted that Canada's icon of the left / joker to the right, EnviroNazi #1 David Suzuki has come out in favor of this plan. If Suzuki likes an idea, you can be sure of three things:

1. it will hurt Alberta's economy,


2. he'll get some free airtime, and


3. it will hurt Alberta's economy.

While Dion has spent lots of time and effort traveling across the nation in an effort to sell his plan, little or no success can be claimed (outside of the usual pro-Liberal columns in some Ontario papers, of course).

After sad-sack Stephane's whirlwind sales tour through Alberta to introduce us to his green vision, latest polling numbers show that the people of this province aren't buying the hype with opposition hovering around 75-80%.

Even in Quebec the public is split about 50-50 on the Green Shift plan, and if you can't fool Quebecers with an environmental plan that screws Alberta, who can you fool?

The bad news, if anything, is it reminds Albertans that even though the names have changed, the federal Liberal party's intention is the same: Alberta's economy is always a target to greedy, leftwing federal Liberals.

The N.E.P. II...sorry, Green Shift...will be Stephane Dion's swansong. His last attempt at credibility before an ever-impending election will turn out like so many of his previous attempts - rejected and ignored.