Maritime Morning - Andrew Krystal

How important is the environment to you as an election issue?

Are you prepared to vote for the party that has the best environmental platform/policy?

It looks like we might see a federal election in the fall. But, as I write to you in the middle of the summer of 2008, how important is a “green” policy to you really?

I know we all say the right things. But how do we really feel when that proverbial push comes to a deliberate shove?

Here it is: the environment is not the number one issue in the Maritimes. And while the Tories have yet to unveil anything that makes sense, and while the NDP have “cap and trade” (which most voters don’t really understand), the Liberals want to tax carbon polluters and “shift” the tax burden. The Liberal plan includes tax cuts. They even have a financial calculator on their website www.thegrenshift.ca based on your income to see how much you would save (knowing that other costs will go up).

Can Liberal leader Stephane Dion sell it here? Sure he has integrity. Leadership means just that - and leading is also difficult. Dion is prepared to fight an election over this one or die trying. Good for him. Instead of telling us what we want to hear or pandering, he is taking the lead. But is leadership on this issue what we want now, and in this region?

The Maritimes face more limited effects of global warming due to the happenstance of geography, a smaller population, and ocean moderation and winds. Global warming does not hit us in the face as much as it does elsewhere (hurricane Juan notwithstanding).

Pocketbook issues rule here. And on that score, Dion’s green plan maybe making us inhale an economic tail pipe.

The gain for the pain is just not visceral enough. The light at the end of the carbon tax tunnel is just not bright enough on this side of the country.

Maritime condemnation over the Atlantic Accord and the political martyrdom of Bill Casey is still very much on the voter radar. Again, that was about the money.

In the Maritimes especially, it is about the money.