Trudeau’s minor retreat on the carbon tax

For months now, we, the Conservative Official Opposition, have been holding the current Trudeau Liberal government to account for its ill-conceived Carbon Tax. We've been calling on the Prime Minister and his government to finally tell Canadians the true cost of the tax, but they continue to refuse. Canadians have been able to see it for what it really is – a tax grab with no real impact on improving the environment while at the same time, making life more expensive. The increasing unpopularity of the Carbon Tax recently led the Trudeau government to quietly make somewhat of a minor retreat on it; however, the policy change is only for some large companies, leaving small businesses and families still paying the full cost.

After making the ridiculous argument for years that paying a Carbon Tax would somehow attract investment into Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau is now retreating with his August 01, 2018 announcement as to what some large companies will have to pay under his new tax. His announcement does absolutely nothing for Canadians. Canadians will still have to pay more for groceries, gas, and home heating. Under Trudeau's Carbon Tax, only big businesses will be receiving this special deal. This is not fair and doesn't make sense.

Trudeau's minor retreat on the Carbon Tax is a small sign that the current Trudeau Liberal government is acknowledging Canadians aren't supportive of his tax grab. More and more Canadians are realizing the Carbon Tax is unfair and will leave them with less of their hard-earned money. Provincial governments are also standing up against the tax, as Ontario is launching a challenge in the Ontario court of appeal against it.

The Carbon Tax is bad for everyone. It makes Canada a less competitive place to do business whether your company employs five or 50,000 people. Our country's competitiveness problem is a direct result of Prime Minister Trudeau's failed economic policies, which includes the Carbon Tax. He's also created massive regulatory uncertainty, increased payroll taxes, and is running massive generational deficits. These failed policies have made it harder to do business and create Canadian jobs. Sadly, we're now left with a large “Closed” sign hanging over our country when it used to be one of the very best places in the world to do business.

We, the Conservative Official Opposition, know that the Liberal Carbon Tax is bad for everybody and that it's just another old-fashioned Liberal tax grab that does nothing for the environment. This is why the very first act of a Conservative government, led by Andrew Scheer, will be to eliminate the Trudeau Carbon Tax and give families relief.

Currently, the Trudeau Liberal government is increasing the cost of living for every Canadian, including driving already skyrocketing gas prices even higher with their Carbon Tax scheme.

What's worse is that he has refused to come clean about the true cost of this tax on the average Canadian family. Both Ontario and Saskatchewan have sent a loud and clear message to Prime Minister Trudeau that they don't want his Carbon Tax at any cost.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer also released a new report recently which found that the sexist Liberal Carbon Tax will take $10 billion out of the Canadian economy by 2022, while other estimates argue the cost could be as much as $35 billion per year. Such costs will hurt jobs, workers, and their families.

The recent announcement by the current Trudeau Liberal government to reduce the share of the cost of the Carbon Tax paid by large companies signals a minor retreat; however, it doesn't change anything for small businesses and Canadian families.

We, the Conservative Official Opposition, will continue to stand up for Canadians by fighting for lower taxes and to call on the Liberal government to finally end their Carbon Tax cover-up.