Angry in the Great White North

Rex Murphy is being quote as being "quick to praise" Stephane Dion for promising to implement a carbon tax in an email sent out by the Liberal Party.

Stephane Dion recently announced actions the Liberals believe Canada must take to build a green economy for the 21st century. In response, experts have been quick to praise this forward thinking plan that links together environmental and economic policy by putting an appropriate price on carbon.

Rex Murphy, commentator for CBC National, said “Mr. Dion is at the very least willing to back up his expressed concern with an idea or measure aimed directly at a central aspect of the problem. Let's give him marks for that... Finally, I think he has an honest logic on his side too.”

Hold on.  Is Rex Murphy saying that a carbon tax is a logical idea?  Not quite.  All he said was that Stephane Dion was being consistent:

So, what can be said in favour of Mr. Dion's defiance of all the political indicators? Well, first of all politicians of all stripes, including the Johnny come lately Tories, have been bleating about the approaching horrors of global warming for months and years. Banning lights bulbs and taxing plastic grocery bags is about as far as any of them actually get to putting in a policy, which might change some of the habits they see as contributing to the approaching apocalypse.

Mr. Dion is at the very least willing to back up his expressed concern with an idea or measure aimed directly at a central aspect of the problem. Let's give him marks for that.

Secondly, Mr. Dion, effectively, became leader because he was seen, for various reasons, as a politician who took this global warming issue very seriously. Remember: the first Green leader of the Liberal party. Since then he's been kind of lost on the issue. This restores him to the one solid ground on which he earned so much of his original appeal.

I think he has an honest logic on his side too. If Canadians, as we are repeatedly assured, respect the planet, are concerned about their global warming ways, then at least Mr. Dion is consistent in asking Canadians to back up their warm sentiments, with an actual cost. To say to Canadians - if you want to slow global warming you must pay something to do so.

So Rex Murphy is not coming out in favour of a carbon tax.  All he said was that Stephane Dion, as a self-proclaimed environmentalist, had to do something like this in order to maintain that label.

Let's give him marks for logical consistency, says Rex Murphy.  As to whether a carbon tax is actually a good idea, Rex Murphy points out that there is already a carbon tax in place:

In addition, both governments are already feeding on these higher prices. Across the country between 30 and 40 percent of every dollar spent at the pump heads to a government coffer. So, in a sense, there is already a built in 'carbon tax' collected every time you pull in to the gas station.

So are two taxes a good idea? 

So, if Mr. Dion does back a carbon tax, I'll give him high marks for courage and consistency.

But he must also know, and I'm sure he does - he could with this very same idea being greasing the skids for a Liberal defeat, and his own subsequent and merciless ejection as party leader.

In any case, he's showing more real brass than anybody else right now, and for that lonely and singular virtue he deserves some credit.

So Stephane Dion gets credit from Rex Murphy for one thing only -- for being brave or for being crazy.  I didn't see any "praise [for] this forward thinking plan" itself.  Did you?

Where does Rex Murphy insist that we need a carbon tax?

I wonder if Rex Murphy appreciates having his words taken out of context like this.