I, for one, think it’s great to see a bit of policy debate in the Liberal leadership race on something other than Afghanistan. Every candidate out there has stated they’re for the environment so, if nothing else, the carbon tax debate should show us some differences in their platforms.

Both Dion and Kennedy say they disagree with Ignatieff’s carbon tax musings in today’s Globe.

“I’ve always been against it. I will have other ways to get there.”

[Dion] said he does not understand Mr. Ignatieff’s comments. After speculating on imposing a carbon tax, Mr. Ignatieff added he would not want to hit any part of the country harder than another.

“The first sentence he said is we need to protect Alberta. And in the second sentence he said carbon tax,” Mr. Dion said in an interview.

Another leadership contender, former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy, said there are better ways to get the resource sector to reduce pollution, including incentives, possibly some trading of emissions credits as part of a transition to a cleaner industry, and incentives to encourage
consumers to choose newer, greener technologies.

“I think a carbon tax is the clumsiest of the options that we’ve got so far, and therefore it’s not part of my plan,” Mr. Kennedy said. And he raised concerns that a carbon tax will divide Canada along regional lines.

“I lived in Alberta when the national energy plan came in, and fairly or not, people associated that with an undermining of the energy sector.

UPDATE: Kennedy is in the Toronto Star as well.

OTTAWA — Canada should impose a tax on gas-guzzling SUVs and cut the GST on hybrid vehicles to help meet its Kyoto commitments, says Liberal leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy.

Kennedy said Thursday that those two measures would yield a “much more practical” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions than the carbon tax floated by leadership frontrunner Michael Ignatieff.