Didn’t vote Liberal? No tax break for you
Last week, the (imploding) Trudeau Government started to unravel parts of their signature policy—the Liberal Carbon Tax.
At a hastily arranged press conference last Thursday, Justin Trudeau announced he was temporarily lifting the Carbon Tax on the price of home heating oil (for a period of three years) and doubling the rural tax rebate.
While I am pleased to see any relief for Canadians struggling with the high cost of living, Conservatives were quick to point out how these moves were clearly targeted to help Atlantic Canada–traditionally a Liberal stronghold—where the use of heating oil is exponentially higher than elsewhere in Canada.
Like Conservatives, provincial premiers were quick to call for the freeze to be extended across Canada—or better yet, scrap the tax altogether.
Don Martin of CTV writes this flip-flop “…goes straight to the heart of a Prime Minister’s character when, after eight years of selling carbon pricing for all while demonizing those who dare question it as knuckle-dragging climate change deniers, he’s suddenly open to poll-driven exemptions in voter regions of Liberal importance.”
This is doubly true when one considers the Liberals’ claim their Carbon Tax is “revenue neutral”—in other words, the government doesn’t make any money off it, and everything collected goes back to Canadians in rebates. If that’s the case, where is this extra money coming from to double the rebate for rural Canadians? If there is sufficient money in the pot to double to the rebate, why were those funds not returned to taxpayers before now? This move further proves how the Trudeau Government has misled Canadians about their costly Carbon Tax from day one.
Likewise, the Government’s claim that Canadians would get back more in rebates than they paid in Carbon Tax has been proven demonstrably false with 80% of families actually paying more—exactly the reverse of what the Trudeau Government claims.
To make matters worse for the embattled PM, the PR campaign to sell this latest move has not gone smoothly.
The PM, himself, awkwardly claimed this flip-flop demonstrated a “doubling down” on his government’s commitment to fight climate change.
As one journalist pointed out:
“Either Trudeau doesn’t understand that “doubling down” and “watering down” are not synonymous or he’s deliberately misleading Canadians.”
But it was Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings who— in a nonsensical, albeit uncharacteristically honest assessment of how this government feels about those who live on the Prairies—revealed the Carbon Tax has always been about politics.
When asked in an interview with CTV News why Western Canadians were not getting the same tax relief, Hutchings responded they “need to elect more Liberals in the Prairies.”
In other words, if you want a reprieve from punitive and crippling Liberal taxes so you can afford your gas, groceries, and heating, you’d better vote Liberal.
Tuesday, the Liberals doubled down on their politically-targeted tax break, with Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson confirming “there will be no more carve-outs coming”.
As Conservative Leader, Pierre Poilievre, summed it up:
“Justin Trudeau is not worried about the cost of living. He is worried about the cost of votes and that’s what caused his panicked flip flop.”
Conservatives have stood up for Canadians against the Liberal Carbon Tax from day one.
The Liberal Carbon Tax is a tax on everything. It artificially increases the cost of everything from gas to groceries to home heating while doing nothing to demonstrably help the environment.
The Carbon Tax was never an environment plan, it is a tax and wealth re-distribution plan.
Likewise, this latest move is all about trying to stabilize the Liberals’ plummeting poll numbers in Atlantic Canada, not about doing what is right for Canadians struggling with the cost of living. If it was, they’d extend the same tax breaks to all Canadian families, not just those who traditionally vote Liberal.
The Liberals need to stop playing games, stop misleading Canadians, and axe the tax. Unlike the Trudeau Liberals, Conservatives will stand up for all Canadians. We want everyone, across Canada, to get a break from the soaring cost of living. That’s why we are committed to axing this inflation driving, politically punitive tax.