Ottawa Journal by David Tilson MP — Trudeau government imposes new tax on Canadians through carbon pricing

October 17, 2016 · 0 Comments

Hardworking Canadian taxpayers are, once again, going to feel the strain on their wallets with the Trudeau government’s recent announcement of its intention to impose a “floor tax” on carbon pollution of $10 a tonne in 2018, rising to $50 a tonne by 2022.
The provinces and territories will be given the option of choosing between a cap-and-trade system or a carbon price-based system. If a province or territory fails to implement one of the systems by 2018, the Trudeau government will impose a price in that jurisdiction.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims that whatever approach is chosen, it will be revenue neutral for the federal government and that all revenues resulting from the system will remain in the respective province or territory. What he fails to see is that his plan will actually be a huge cost to Canadian taxpayers every year.
Prime Minister Trudeau came to power promising to usher in a new era of co-operative federalism. However, his recent announcement is not reflective of that promise to Canadians. He is using a heavy-handed approach to force the provinces and territories to impose a massive tax grab against their will. While there is bi-partisan support for the climate targets first proposed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a massive carbon tax grab on Canadians will not achieve our country’s climate change goals.
The imposition of a “floor price” for carbon pollution is the wrong approach to Canada’s climate change goals. This is one politician taking money from a family and giving it to another politician. It is a tax grab and it is not tax free. The Prime Minister’s proposal will cost individual taxpayers thousands of dollars every year. It essentially becomes a massive new tax on consumers, which is the equivalent of 11.5 cents per litre on gasoline. The tax will increase the cost of everything, such as food, clothing, heating your home and so on. Canadian families are already stretched following the current Liberal government’s cancellation of the previous Conservative government’s tax relief measures and now with other planned tax hikes, including the expansion of the Canadian Pension Plan, this will be yet another cost for families to absorb. The current government is failing to see the financial burden these expensive initiatives place on Canadians. It also underscores how misguided this government’s priorities are when it comes to economic growth and job creation when they are imposing a new tax, but holding back approval on job-creating pipeline projects. Taxpaying Canadian families deserve better from their government.
The Conservative Opposition will continue to be the voice of the taxpayer. We have said from day one we will perform that role and hold the current Liberal government accountable for its tax grabbing initiatives, including this latest one, of imposing a floor price on carbon pollution. tilson