Green Shift message muffled by the noise

There has been a lot of ink devoted to the federal Liberals’ so-called ‘Green Shift’ strategy, extolling its virtues as an economic blueprint for the future or panning it for prohibitive proposed tax reform.

It’s too early to tell if it’s a winner or not and we fear that few people outside the political arena or academia will ever really grasp its significance.

Not that it’s beyond anyone’s capability. On the contrary, it’s crafted in plain language and Liberal leader Stephane Dion took great pains to ensure it was explained at length through media releases, press conferences and by his MPs in public sessions around the country.

That’s not the problem. We think the Green Shift just might have some legs down the line because there’s no question the world is moving toward a greener economy and that’s where a protocol like the Shift could reach its zenith.

Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison said as much to the Eastern Kings Chamber of Commerce last week, telling people at the Wolfville Lions Hall that some of the biggest companies in the world today are going green and changing their business models out of a realization that they won’t be able to compete with a high carbon footprint. “If you’re an environmental laggard today, you’ll be an economic laggard tomorrow,” he said. “The smartest money in the world is going green.”

The only way to stay competitive is to address the growing issues of climate change, emissions and to encourage revolutionary industry to effect real change that’s sustainable.

Fine. But we suspect if you ask a person on the street about the Green Shift and what it means, you’ll hear mutterings about a Stephen King serial about death row or a pending lawsuit involving the use of the name more so than what the strategy’s all about.

Jennifer Wright is the owner of an environmental firm that’s suing the Liberal party for $8.75 million, alleging infringement on her company’s use of the name, which is Green Shift Inc. Wright has said in published reports that she doesn’t want Green Shift to be tainted by partisan politics because of the Liberal plan.

So what if Dion says the party phoned Wright in advance of their Green Shift launch? That’s a pretty weak defense, especially if she told them to pound sand and she’d take them to court if they proceeded.

We’re not privy, of course, to any such information and can only take Dion at his word - that he gave Wright a heads-up to be fair - but one can imagine since Wright has since filed suit that she wasn’t receptive to any such overture from the Liberal party.

Add to this headache the fact that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also launched a $3.5-million defamation lawsuit against the Liberals – a party reportedly strapped for cash, by the way; hence, no election call despite myriad opportunities – and it’s clear policy will continue to take a backseat until these matters are resolved one way or another. You can spread your resources only so thin before the thread begins to unravel, and the Liberals are just about at the end of their rope.

Is the Green Shift a solid plan? Any initiative that proposes to shift taxes from income to pollution certainly sounds good. But with Dion and the Liberal party constantly rocked on its heels trying to defend itself one way or another, we think the message is lost in what’s fabulous rather than what’s real. Too bad, because they just might be on to something despite all the noise surrounding it.