Liberal Leader Stephane Dion ramped up his attacks against the Conservatives on Monday as he campaigned in Quebec, accusing them of "piling their lies upon lies."
Dion was responding to Tory attack ads that claimed he would raise the GST and end a $1,200 child tax benefit. He said both allegations were false.
"They are piling their lies upon lies," he told supporters at a rally in Montreal's south shore. "They are unable to stop lying. Canadians will not accept that."
In another Quebec campaign stop, he slammed the Conservatives for being "blinded by ideology" when it came to tackling gun crime. Dion delivered his message at Montreal's Dawson College, the site of a horrific 2006 shooting spree that killed one person and wounded 20 others.
Dion called for a ban on semi-automatic assault rifles like the one used in the attack, citing a coroner's recommendation. During the shooting, the killer fired more than 70 rounds from his weapon.
"I always take into consideration the opinion of experts with respect to Canadians' safety," said Dion. "I don't allow myself to be blinded by ideology."
He also said military-type weapons have "nothing to do with hunting and sports," and should be taken off the streets.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, campaigning in Vancouver, refused to endorse the ban and warned Dion that he should not "be seen as exploiting particular tragedies."
Polls suggest gun-control measures are highly popular in Quebec, where the Liberals appear to be having a difficult time hanging on to supporters. In a Strategic Counsel poll released Sunday that surveyed several key battleground ridings in the province, the Conservatives had managed to overtake both the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois:
- Conservatives: 32 per cent
- Bloc Quebecois: 28 per cent
- Liberals: 24 per cent
- New Democrats: 11
- Green Party: 5
Dion had a difficult time starting his campaign in Quebec on Monday -- he spent the morning in a dentist's office to have a cracked tooth fixed. But there appeared to be some good news for the Liberal leader by the afternoon.
The party was expected to settle a trademark dispute over its "Green Shift" plan with an environmental group of the same name: Green Shift Inc.
A spokesperson for the environmental group said the agreement would likely be finalized sometime Tuesday. There were no details as to how much money -- if any -- the Liberal party had agreed to pay in licensing fees.
However, the Liberals released a press release late Monday afternoon saying the dispute had been effectively "resolved."
With files from CTV Montreal and The Canadian Press
