Angry in the Great White North

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion is betting it all on his idea for a carbon tax, also known as The Green Shift.

If we pay a surcharge on all sources of energy, Canada will be green, and we'll all be rich, and the Earth will be saved.

In case you don't believe me, watch this video.  It explains everything.

Here's an interesting capture from the video.  It showcases how important mass transit will be.

Click on the image and study the train.  Note the bluish colour, the white band running down the middle, and the distinctive X-shape on the doors.

Look familiar?

It shouldn't.  It doesn't look like a subway in either Toronto or Montreal.

Here's a shot from a YouTube video of the Moscow Metro:

Click on the image and study the train.  Note the bluish colour, the white band running down the middle, and the distinctive X-shape on the doors.

Look familiar?

It should.  It's the train that is featured on the Liberal Party's Green Shift video.

We have subway systems in Toronto and Montreal.  The transit authorities and the cities are constantly looking for cash to expand the systems, improve service, catch up on maintenance, or replace old rolling stock.  Despite the challenges, those systems move millions of people a year, safely and efficiently.  They are world-class transit systems that serve their cities well.

But apparently they aren't suited for a Liberal Party video.  Instead we are shown Rusich subway cars, constructed by the Metrowagonmash company of Moscow, with which to imagine a fairer, greener Canada.

I have to say I'm disappointed.  I'd say Toronto and Montreal have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to their subways systems.  The rolling stock was constructed by Hawker Siddeley Canada in Mississauga, Urban Transportation Development Corporation of Thunder Bay (now Bombardier), and Bombardier in Montreal.  Canadian technology developing Canadian solutions for Canadian problems.

I'd like to know who decided they weren't worthy for inclusion in a Liberal Party campaign commercial highlighting the environmental benefits of mass transit.

Let's hear from the NDP: Certainly Jack Layton and the NDP ought to have an opinion about the Liberals forgoing an opportunity to show how union workers in Canadian's manufacturing sector can apply their skills to helping the environment.

Bonjour: Welcome to readers from Radio-Canada's Sur Le Web.