Looking at the Liberal government’s carbon tax cover-up

May 3, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written by David Tilson

There is increasing concern about the cost of the current Liberal government’s carbon tax, which Prime Minister Trudeau is trying to push through without providing Canadians an honest explanation about what it will cost them. This is not the transparent government the Prime Minister promised during the 2015 campaign. What’s more concerning is a recent report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) with a grim outlook on the impact of the carbon tax on the GDP and this year’s deficit. Canadians are being asked to dig even deeper into their pockets to find money to pay for Prime Minister Trudeau’s out-of-control spending and for a carbon tax without divulging what it will cost.

On April 23, 2018, the PBO tabled his Economic and Fiscal Outlook – April 2018. His report finds that the current Liberal government’s carbon tax will reduce the GDP by $10 billion per year by 2022 and that this year’s deficit will be $22 billion. This figure is almost four times what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised. Furthermore, interest on the national debt will rise to almost $40 billion by 2022, which works out to be an increase of nearly two-thirds from last year and much higher than Finance Minister Morneau promised. Statistics like these are alarming for Canadians and for good reason. We, the Conservative Official Opposition, like so many Canadians, understand that every cent over $10 billion in deficit spending is a broken promise and that to pay for the Prime Minister’s out-of-control spending, taxes are raised on hardworking, middle class Canadians – the very people he claims to be helping.

Budget 2017 confirmed that the Prime Minister broke his promise to keep deficit spending under $10 billion a year and to balance the budget by 2019.

Now, in the Budget Implementation Act, Bill C-74, with 200 pages dedicated to the new federally-imposed carbon tax, the Prime Minister and Minister Morneau are asking Parliament to pass the bill without telling Canadians how much it will cost them. My colleague, the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, summarized it best in the House of Commons on April 24, 2018 when asking the Finance Minister yet again to reveal the cost, “It is kind of like a big blank cheque from Canadian taxpayers.” This is another example of the current government’s disrespect for the Canadian taxpayer. After breaking promise after promise, Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberal government expect Canadians to blindly support a new tax, which will raise the price of home heating, electricity, and groceries without providing any details on how much it will cost or what it will achieve. This is unacceptable.

We, the Conservative Official Opposition, have asked the current Liberal government dozens of times to tell us how much a middle-class family will pay in new taxes and each time the Liberals have refused to tell Canadians.

We have also repeatedly asked how much the current Liberal government’s carbon tax will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the Prime Minister and the Minister of Environment have refused to answer. If the Liberal government won’t tell us the cost of their carbon tax and can’t demonstrate how it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, how can they expect Canadians to pay this new tax?

The Conservative Official Opposition will continue to stand up for Canadian taxpayers, as we have been calling on the Liberal government to end their carbon tax cover-up and to finally tell Canadians how much more their families will pay when it comes into effect. We believe in responsible government spending, lower taxes, and making life more affordable for every Canadian unlike the current Liberal government which has consistently demonstrated just how out of touch it is with ordinary, hardworking Canadian taxpayers.

Canadians deserve better from their government.