Canada
is sitting on the third-largest oil reserves in the world, yet when a crisis
hits and supply is disrupted, we are at the mercy of the markets without our
own reserve stock.
Life
in Canada is becoming unaffordable, and Canadians are desperate for relief.
Canadians paid
almost 55 per cent more for gasoline in June than they did the year before and,
as everyone pays more for fuel, it’s driving up the costs of everything else we
buy.
Driving is less
affordable, and reports show Canadians are cutting back on essentials, even eating less food because of the higher prices.
Food banks are
overwhelmed, and demand only seems to be growing.
While the
Liberals would like to blame it all on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, taxes,
broader global supply chain challenges, and a lack of domestic production are
all at play.
Depending on
where you live in the country, gas taxes could make up to 38 per cent of the price you pay at the pump.
So as gas prices
have soared, the government has been floating in gas cash, inflating both
prices and the size of the government.
Meanwhile,
Canadians struggle to feed themselves and these short-sighted policies hurt the
lowest income Canadians the most.
The most offensive
of these taxes is the carbon tax.
On April 1st,
Trudeau increased the carbon tax, bringing it to about 11 cents a litre.
That decision
made Canada the only G7 country to increase the price of gas for its citizens
during a global energy crisis.
As I’ve stated
before, I will cancel the carbon tax, but there are other taxes that Canadians
need to know about.
Every time you
fill up at a gas station, the Liberals aren’t just taxing you, they are taxing
you on their own taxes – the GST/HST you pay is calculated on all the other
taxes including the federal excise tax and carbon tax.
It’s adding an
extra 4.1 cents per litre on average to the price, equalling about $1
billion per year in revenue for the government.
As Prime
Minister, I will eliminate this hidden and dishonest tax-on-tax, and provide
some immediate and permanent relief to Canadians at the pumps.
We need to do
everything we can to stabilize prices, drive down inflation and keep the
economy moving.
That’s why I
also agree with calls from other campaigns to suspend federal taxes on gas for
the summer. At $1.75/litre, suspending all federal gas taxes would save drivers
about 25 cents per litre.
But this isn’t
enough – we need longer-term solutions.
Global supply
issues are a key driver of the prices we’re seeing.
Canada is
sitting on the third-largest oil reserves in the world, yet when a crisis hits
and supply is disrupted, we are at the mercy of the markets without our own
reserve stock.
Most of us have
heard the adage, “save for a rainy day.”
In addition to
building up our oil and gas capacity, it’s time for Canada to join other
major oil producers to establish a National Strategic Oil Reserve to
ensure a baseline supply of oil in the event of global market shocks and
disruptions like geopolitical wars and illegal rail blockades.
I first unveiled
this policy in my 2020 platform, and I believe this policy is needed now more
than ever.
It will require
investment and partnerships across industry and governments, but if we’re serious
about protecting Canada’s interests in an increasingly dangerous world, it’s a
strategic necessity.
Canadians have
suffered enough these past two years, and what they need right now is stability
and hope.
It’s time Canadians have a Prime Minister who will fight for affordability while delivering on a vision for energy security and prosperity that puts Canadians first.
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The writer Dr Leslyn Lewis is a Canadian lawyer and member of the House of Commons of Canada who is also running to be Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
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