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WINNIPEG, Manitoba (LifeSiteNews) — Manitoba is set to pause the provincial fuel tax for six months, amid ongoing controversy over Trudeau’s carbon tax.
On November 23, left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) Finance Minister Adrien Sala announced that the Manitoba government has introduced a bill to suspend its provincial fuel tax for six months starting on January 1, 2024.
“We know there is an affordability crisis in Manitoba and across Canada,” said Sala. “This legislation would provide much-needed relief to Manitobans during these unprecedented times of high inflation. The bill would help everyone from the family rushing their kids off to different activities, to the small business owner who relies on their car for work.”
The proposed legislation, Bill 3: The Fuel Tax Amendment Act, also called the fuel tax holiday, will temporarily eliminate the provincial fuel tax rate on gasoline, natural gas and diesel fuels for road use. The tax relief would last from January 2024 to July 2024.
Sala added that fuel taxes on aviation, locomotive and propane would not be included in the fuel tax holiday and would still be collected.
He noted that under the new scheme, the average Manitoba family with two cars would save around $250 during the tax relief.
“This would provide direct relief to Manitoba families struggling with rising costs and is a crucial step in our government’s plan to make life more affordable for all Manitobans,” said Sala.
The measure was promised by Premier Wab Kinew during the recent election campaign in an attempt to combat the rising cost of living for Canadians.
“This is the first step of our plan to bring in affordability measures for you,” Kinew said. “We are also going to bring fuel prices under the purview of the Public Utilities Board to be able to get through some of the market failures that we often see when it comes to gasoline prices.”
The fuel tax relief comes as Canadians are increasingly calling for relief from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax.
Trudeau recently announced he was pausing the collection of the carbon tax on home heating oil for three years, a provision that primarily benefits the Liberal-held Atlantic provinces. The current cost of the carbon tax on home heating fuel is 17 cents per liter. Most Canadians, however, heat their homes with clean-burning natural gas, a fuel that will not be exempted from the carbon tax.
The poll follows two recent polls of how Atlantic Canada and Ontario responded to the carbon tax exemption; 77 percent of Atlantic Canadians supported tax exemptions on all forms of home heating compared to 63 percent of Ontario residents.
Similarly, five Canadian premiers from coast to coast have banded together to demand Trudeau drop the carbon tax on home heating bills for all provinces, saying his policy of giving one region a tax break over another has caused “divisions.” Despite appeals from Canadian, Trudeau has refused to extend the carbon tax exemption.
Trudeau’s carbon tax, framed as a way to reduce carbon emissions, has cost Canadians hundreds more annually despite rebates.
The increased costs are only expected to rise, as a recent report revealed that a carbon tax of more than $350 per tonne is needed to reach Trudeau’s net-zero goals by 2050.
Currently, Canadians living in provinces under the federal carbon pricing scheme pay $65 per tonne, but the Trudeau government has a goal of $170 per tonne by 2030.
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