Liberals Have Done Enough
Ottawa, ON – Jasraj Hallan, Conservative Shadow Minister for Finance, released the following statement in response to Finance Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne’s comments saying he has done enough to ease the pain of Liberal inflation:
“That’s what Carney’s Finance Minister told Canadians when asked if he would extend the fuel excise tax on fuel pause after the average gas price rose to $1.878 – 22.3 cents more expensive per litre than in the US. While Canadians pay the price at the pump and in everything that they buy, he says the Liberals have already done enough and provided even more relief than peer countries.
“Canadians already know the fix: nearly 39 per cent of those polled by Bloomberg support reducing taxes on fuel as the preferred response to the rising price at the pump. That includes 55 per cent of those in Atlantic Canada, almost 43 per cent in the Prairies and 41 per cent of those in Ontario. So much for moving ‘faster’ and ‘more ‘comprehensively’ than our peers.
“While Conservatives called for zero tax on gas, and countries around the world cut their taxes on gas, Carney dithered as prices soared and Canadians paid 13.4 per cent more than Americans because of high Liberal taxes. When Carney finally presented his plan two weeks later, it was just one-third of the relief for a third of the year compared to the Conservative plan.
“According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the Liberal plan would save the average household just $124. By contrast, the Conservative plan would save Canadians 25 cents a litre or about $1,200 for a family of four, for the rest of the year by removing all Liberal taxes on gas and diesel.
“As Carney put forward less than half measures, countries like Ireland were announcing further cuts to their taxes on fuel. On March 24, their Parliament voted to cut the excise tax by 15 cents per litre on gas and 20 cents on diesel. By April 12, they announced a further cut of 10 cents per litre on gas and diesel, along with suspending the increase in the carbon tax.
“Years of higher taxes and inflationary deficit spending have driven up the cost of everything. Nearly three-quarters of Canadians said that rising prices of food and gas are straining their finances, while more than 4 in 10 are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills, according to a report from MNP.
“Instead of more empty praise for himself from Carney’s Finance Minister, it’s time the Liberals delivered real relief at the pump by immediately removing all federal taxes on gas and diesel. Canadians deserve more money in their pockets, and a real plan that will make Canada affordable at home by ending inflationary deficit spending and Liberal taxes to bring down the cost of food and transportation.”