MP Report: Conservatives call for fuel tax suspension

By Glen Motz on May 29, 2024.

Without any consideration for the current cost-of-living crisis Canadians are experiencing, the federal government hiked the carbon tax by 23 per cent on April 1, 2024. Overall, gas prices have increased by more than 50 per cent since Trudeau became prime minister nine years ago.

The recent common-sense Conservative ask of Trudeau is simple. Give Canadians a financial break by suspending all gas and diesel taxes during our country’s brief summer vacation months between Victoria Day and Labour Day. So far Trudeau is unwavering in his refusal to defer the carbon tax, excise tax and the GST on fuels. Doing so would lower gas prices by 35.6 cents per litre on average, offering Canadians the chance to take a simple summer holiday.

Yet, while life has become economically miserable for most Canadians, Trudeau never hesitates to fly off to a luxury resort for his own family vacations. Remember the $230,000 Jamaica getaway last December? For a growing number of Canadians, these excessive Trudeau ‘tax everything’ schemes have forced them to scale back or cancel vacations, including short road trips or close-to-home holidays.

According to Canada’s independent Parliamentary Budget Officer, Trudeau’s carbon tax will cost the average Alberta family about $2,943, with only about $1,900 back in rebates this year. The price of food alone will cost families about $700 more in 2024 than they paid in 2023.

Unfortunately, the Liberal government does not see the value in offering struggling Canadians a few months tax reprieve to rejuvenate spirits. For Albertans, a tax pause for three months would save each family about $955. I strongly support our common-sense Conservative call to give Canadians a summer tax break.

To offset lower government revenue resulting from this tax reduction, we recommend the Liberals cut back on all non-essential spending. Things like the over $21-billion annual expense on overpriced consultants, which has gone up almost 100 percent since 2015.

The old saying goes, ‘If there is a will, there is a way’ and Conservatives have both the will and the way. Canadians deserve financial relief, not more taxes. Our common-sense measures are to not only give a summer tax break, but to eliminate the carbon tax completely when we form government after the next election and rid the bureaucracy of the Trudeau ‘tax everything’ mentality. For most Canadians, this can’t come soon enough.

Glen Motz is the MP for Medicine Hat-Cardston Warner

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