Axe the Tax on Everything for Everyone

Plus meeting Representative Tseng of Taiwan, Bank of Canada Governor testifies at Finance committee, and more

Axe the Tax on Everything for Everyone

Welcome back to another week of Resuming Debate. I know, yet another newsletter on the carbon tax, but this remains the top issue I hear about from residents, regardless of other events in Canada or world conflicts. The very recent decision by the Liberal government to suspend the carbon tax on home heating oil needs a closer look. This decision was politically motivated, admitted freely by government ministers and Atlantic Liberal MPs. 97% of Canadians will not get any break on their home heating this winter. Moreover, this latest decision by the Trudeau Liberals undermines the legal case the national carbon tax is built upon by being in conflict with the universality and national concern arguments made before the Supreme Court. I know many lawyers will be taking careful notes for future court challenges.

The Liberals have been struggling to put the genie back in the bottle following their 3-year carbon tax pause on home heating oil that effectively created two classes of Canadians. We’ve known all along the carbon tax was about politics and dividing Canadians. They poured gasoline on the fire of western alienation in their attempts to diminish the contribution of energy workers to our shared prosperity. They paused the tax on home heating oil, a more carbon intensive product than natural gas, because they were sinking in the polls in Atlantic Canada, which uses it far more than other parts of the country. What we did not expect was for a Liberal minister to confirm it herself that the reasons were entirely for electoral reasons and not public policy. Speaking to the press last week, the Liberal rural economic development minister said outright that the prairies should elect more Liberal MPs if they want to be heard on carbon tax breaks. Get the message? Vote Liberal and you get a reprieve from punitive taxation. Vote for anyone else, the tax is enforced, and you are forgotten in Ottawa as your gas, heating and grocery bills skyrocket. The Prime Minister believes that only Canadians important enough to Liberal political math deserve help from the federal government. He has steadfastly refused to provide more exemptions on the carbon tax for other parts of Canada, continuing his divisive politics. He cannot choose which voters he chooses to be a Prime Minister for and neglect others. As a result of his actions, the divides are worsening. In response to the pause, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced that his province will stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas nor will he submit that tax revenue to the federal government. Their legislature, including the Saskatchewan NDP, unanimously passed a motion calling for the tax to be removed in its entirety on natural gas. All over Western Canada, politicians of all political parties are joining together in opposition to this divisive decision to create two classes of Canadians.

Beyond political battles, the future of the carbon tax will also face legal ones. The Supreme Court’s 2021 majority decision on finding the carbon tax constitutional under the ‘national concerns’ doctrine rested on the premise that minimum national standards of GHG pricing were being set across the country, whether by provincial design or the federal backstop, to regulate carbon emissions. Provinces forced to abide by the backstop, i.e. the carbon tax, were chosen for the “purpose of ensuring that the pricing of greenhouse gas emissions is applied broadly in Canada.” Most importantly, the Court acknowledged that a “failure to include one province in the scheme would jeopardize its success in the rest of Canada.” The Liberal government’s decision to pause the tax to secure votes in a future election, especially for a more carbon intensive fuel source than the one used by 97% of Canadians, flies in the face of the universality the Court expected when declaring the carbon tax a constitutional mechanism.

Time will tell if the courts will consider these current events and the public statements of pro-carbon tax politicians when reviewing the legal justification used by federal government lawyers. Common Sense Conservatives have a faster and simpler plan. No gimmicks. No temporary measures. When we form government, we will axe the tax on everything for everyone and bring home lower prices. We have forced a vote in Parliament calling upon the NDP-Liberal government to immediately abolish the federal carbon tax on all forms of home heating for all Canadians. Dividing Canadians into one politically favoured group for vote harvesting when their polls are collapsing in Atlantic Canada is wrong. Read the motion below.

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Meeting Representative Tseng of Taiwan

I had the opportunity to meet Representative Tseng from the Taipei Cultural and Economic Office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Canada. We discussed the intimidation of Taiwanese Canadians by the People’s Republic of China and I reiterated Canada’s support for a free and democratic Taiwan against the Beijing government’s authoritarian regime.

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Bank of Canada Governor testifies at Finance committee

This week, the Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed again that the Prime Minister’s deficit spending and carbon tax are inflationary. He also added that it is making it harder to bring down interest rates. The Governor was asked if government spending and the Bank of Canada’s attempts to control inflation are going in opposite directions, and his answer was a simple and straightforward 'yes.' When asked about what happens if the government continues down this reckless path, the Governor said, 'that would not be helpful in getting inflation down to target.' In further testimony, the Governor confirmed that if the Trudeau Liberals were to listen to Conservatives and axe the tax overnight, there would be an immediate and sizable drop in inflation by 0.6% off the top line number of 3.8%.

With the Fall Economic Statement fast approaching, it is increasingly clear that the Liberal-NDP coalition needs to bring forward a path to balance the budget in order to bring inflation down, so interest rates can fall and Canadians will be able to stay in their homes. Canada is headed for a mortgage disaster, and Canadians know that this Prime Minister’s inflationary spending is not worth the cost.

Watch his testimony for yourself.

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Auburn Bay Parade of Lights

As Christmas approaches, I welcome all constituents to take part in the Auburn Bay Parade Lights on Saturday, November 25. I will be happy to take questions and listen to your concerns at the hot chocolate stand I host there every year. Check out their Facebook page below.