Premier, finance minister urge federal government to pause April 1 increase of carbon price
This article was written by Robert Benzie and was published in the Toronto Star on March 26, 2024.
Signaling that Tuesday’s budget will focus on the cost-of-living crisis, Premier Doug Ford is extending a temporary 5.7 cents a litre gasoline tax cut.
First announced by Ford before the 2022 election — and twice extended — a fuel tax break that was supposed to expire on June 30 will now continue until Dec. 31.
“Things are tough out there for people, really, really tough — they’re feeling the crunch,” the premier said Monday, confirming what Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy had hinted at to the Star’s editorial board two weeks ago.
To that end, Bethlenfalvy’s spending plan will strive to keep costs down.
“Our government really knows that high inflation and high interest rates are putting immense pressure on the pocketbooks of Ontarians,” the treasurer said against the backdrop of an inflation rate that has levelled off at 2.8 per cent.
“Families are feeling the strain on their household budgets and our government understands that. That’s why we acted early to keep costs down and protect people and businesses from the rising cost of everything,” he said.
Both Bethlenfalvy and Ford reiterated their plea to the federal government to pause a planned increase in the price of carbon from $65 a tonne to $80 a tonne on April 1.
Doug Ford said the provincial gas tax will remain at nine cents a litre until the end of year, meaning savings to the average family of $320 since the break was introduced in early 2022
“One of the reasons prices are going up right across the board is the carbon tax. Everything gets transported on a truck, on a train, on a plane,” the premier told reporters.
Ford said the provincial gas tax will remain at nine cents a litre until the end of year, meaning savings to the average family of $320 since the break was introduced in early 2022.
The move costs the treasury about $1.2 billion in lost revenue.
“It’s never been more important to keep costs down, especially now as people struggle with the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes and the rising cost of the federal carbon tax,” he said.
“We’re on a relentless mission to save people money. We eliminated road tolls, we scrapped the license plate sticker fee, we launched One Fare to eliminate the cost of transferring between transit agencies in the GTA.”
Unusually, for a government announcement, the premier struck a sharply partisan tone, repeatedly attacking rookie Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, who has also distanced herself from the federal carbon levy.
Ford, who has unilaterally imposed his will on municipalities numerous times over the past nearly six years, railed against Crombie’s proposal to mandate fourplexes across Ontario to tackle the province’s housing crisis.
“I believe in letting municipalities decide. Again, Bonnie Crombie thinks she knows better than all 444 municipalities. I don’t,” he said.
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