Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is requesting that the Trudeau government suspend all federal gas taxes to give Canadians a “summer break” from inflation.
“The vast majority of Canadians are struggling just to eat, heat and house themselves, a vacation is not even in the cards,” said Poilievre.
“If they do go on a family vacation, they’re forced to pay $2 a litre here in British Columbia, and it’s not much better anywhere else.”
Poilievre made the request while speaking at a gas station in Vancouver on Thursday, asking for a pause from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
“Justin Trudeau may be able to fly off to a luxury resort for a $230,000 taxpayer-funded vacation, but most Canadians are having to scale back or cancel their road trips after Trudeau’s carbon tax made fuel and groceries unaffordable,” said Poilievre in a press release.
“Canadians deserve relief, not more taxes. Families should be able to afford a simple road trip,” he added.
According to the Conservatives’ estimates, removing all federal taxes on gas would reduce the price by 35.6 cents per litre on average across Canada, saving Canadian families around $670 over the suggested suspension period.
Poilievre has been beating his party’s ‘axe the tax’ drum for some time now, saying that the federal government could recoup any losses from its removal by cutting back on hefty consultant fees, as evident by the ArriveCan application scandal.
“If you wonder how we could pay for it, this prime minister is spending $21 billion dollars on consultants,” said Poilievre. “Money that could be in the pockets of Canadians.”
“Conservatives will axe the tax on everything for everyone in a carbon tax election, but until that can happen, Trudeau must adopt this common-sense measure to give Canadians a summer break,” reads the party’s press release.
Some provinces have already removed provincial gas taxes temporarily to alleviate financial stress, a pause that was set to expire at the end of June but has since been further extended until at least the end of the summer.
Ontario announced it would be extending the pause until the end of this year in its latest budget and Manitoba extended its gas tax cut until the end of September.
Alberta reinstated its gas tax in full last month, however the province reserves the right to reduce it or remove it entirely if the price of a barrel of oil surpasses a certain threshold.
B.C. has had its own carbon pricing system in place since 2008.
The Saskatchewan government officially refused to send Ottawa federal carbon levy funds from natural gas in January, promising taxpayers some financial relief.
The Canada Revenue Agency later threatened to audit Saskatchewan for not paying carbon levies on home heating to the federal government.
“If the Prime Minister thinks he’s going to start sending agencies after provinces that have had unanimous votes in their legislation to pass legislation… Provinces are not subservient governments to the federal government. We have areas of jurisdiction, and we intend on using it,” said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe earlier this month.
After ceasing the carbon tax levy collection in January, Saskatchewan’s inflation fell quicker than predicted. Manitoba saw a similar decline after pausing its fuel tax.
“Give Canadians a fuel tax holiday of 35 cents a litre from Victoria Day all the way to Labour Day,” said Poilievre.