Liberal Leader Stephane Dion made his own campaign-style announcement Wednesday, offering hundreds of millions for farmers, fishermen and truckers as an additional part of his contentious 'Green Shift' plan.
He said the plan will "reconcile the economy with the environment."
Dion said that a Liberal government would set aside $400 million over four years in emission-reduction credits for the primary industries under his environmental plan.
He also announced that Liberals would add a $250 million "green farms funds" for research aimed at cutting fuel consumption.
"This makes the green shift even better and stronger," Dion told the Liberal caucus as it met for its summer retreat in Winnipeg.
The tweaks to the 'Green Shift' came after months of heavy Conservative criticisms and fears from the primary industries that they would bear the brunt of the cost of a carbon tax.
The environmental strategy is expected to be the centrepiece of the Liberal election campaign.
"Canadians need a government that will be guided by science and fact, not narrow-minded ideology," Dion said.
Dion also announced that Bob Friesen, the former leader of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, would be running for the Liberals.
CTV parliamentary correspondent Graham Richardson said on 麻豆影视net Wednesday that "clearly (Dion) was getting a strong pushback (on the plan), especially in rural parts of Canada."
With Prime Minister Stephen Harper expected to call an election by the end of the week for Oct. 14, the Liberals were clearly in election mode, with Dion trying out some new soundbites on the stump.
"Tory times are always tough times," Dion said referring to Canada's economic slowdown.
He also pulled a page out of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's election playbook and tried to link Stephen Harper's policies to U.S. President George Bush.
Richardson noted that Harper has pulled a similar trick on Dion calling him, "to the left of Pierre Trudeau" last week.
Understanding the 'Green' plan
On Tuesday, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Jason Kenney said even Liberal MPs don't fully understand Dion's Green Shift carbon tax plan.
But Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal MP for Willowdale, Ont., downplayed the notion that the plan is complicated and many Liberals don't even fully understand it.
"It's not complex. It's in fact really simple," she told CTV's Canada AM from the Liberal caucus meeting in Winnipeg.
"What's complex about saying we're going to reduce taxes on the things we want more of -- income, innovation, investment in green technologies, and shift that onto pollution? It's a simple concept."
Hall Findlay said the economy and the environment will be the two key issues of the election, and Dion's Green Shift plan allows the party to tackle both at once.
Another Liberal MP, Dominic LeBlanc, told Canada AM the plan doesn't represent a tax increase; rather, it shifts taxation, putting a heavier burden on polluters.
"It's a big personal income tax cut for low- and middle-income people. It's a program also to deal with issues like poverty. But at the end of the day it's a very effective program to deal with climate change," LeBlanc said.
