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What Constituents are Saying: Carbon Tax edition

Not surprisingly, this past month has seen an increase in the already steady volume of emails expressing opposition to the carbon tax.  Excerpts from some of them are below:

“This letter is written as a request to end this ridiculous carbon tax and false narrative that people get more back than is paid. We are not stupid and can do math. The citizens of Canada are drowning in taxes and red tape, we have had enough of the mismanagement and disinformation.”

“[The carbon tax] is the most regressive policy for millions of Canadians. It’s shameful that Trudeau is taxing us. We are the only country in the Americas with a carbon tax. It’s immoral to tax natural gas to heat our homes and add GST on top of it!”

“It is becoming increasing unaffordable to maintain any quality of life and [I am] starting to live with overwhelming stress.”

Stephanie shares these concerns about the high cost of living and along with her Conservative colleagues has attempted numerous times to have the Liberal/NDP coalition commit to helping ease the burden on Canadians.

For example, they have proposed repeatedly that Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh rescind – or at least pause – the carbon tax while so many people are struggling. The issue has been raised repeatedly in Question Period, and has included many requests for the Liberals to cancel their planned increases to the tax.  Conservatives also put forward motions to have the carbon tax removed from home heating and food inputs. Unfortunately, the Liberals and NDP consistently voted against all of them.

Ahead of the 23% increase scheduled for April 1, 2024, Conservatives tabled successive motions in Parliament to cancel the hike and for the House to declare non-confidence in the Prime Minister as a result of his disregard for the financial impacts his tax is having on Canadians. Below is a list of some of the times Stephanie and the rest of the Official Opposition called on the Liberal government to:

  • That the House declare non-confidence in the Prime Minister and his costly government for increasing the carbon tax 23 % on April 1, as part of his plan to quadruple the tax while Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat and house themselves, and call for the House to be dissolved so Canadians can vote in a carbon tax election. (Mar 21, 2024)
  • That, given that 70% of provinces and 70% of Canadians oppose the Prime Minister’s 23% carbon tax hike on April 1, the House call on the NDP-Liberal coalition to immediately cancel this hike. (Mar 19, 2024)

Þ     That, given that the carbon tax has proven to be a tax plan, not an environmental plan, the House call on the Liberal government to cancel the April 1, 2024, carbon tax increase. (Feb 1, 2024)

Þ     That the amendments by the Trudeau-appointed Senators which effectively gutted C-234 (an act to remove the carbon tax for farmers) be removed (Jan 29, 2024)

Þ     That, given that the government has announced a “temporary, three-year pause” to the federal carbon tax on home heating oil, the House call on the government to extend that pause to all forms of home heating. (Nov 2, 2023)

Þ   That the House “call on the government to introduce legislation within seven days of this motion being adopted, to repeal all carbon taxes to bring home lower prices on gas, groceries and home heating.” (Sep 28 2023)

Þ   Cancel the carbon tax on food inputs and production (Dec 8 2022)

Þ   Exempt home heating fuel from the carbon tax – (Oct 20 2022)

Þ   Eliminate the plan to triple the carbon tax (Sept 27, 2022)

Þ   Suspend the carbon tax (June 7, 2022)

Þ   Present a federal budget with no new taxes (March 31, 2022)

Þ   Postpone the 2021 increase of the carbon tax (and the alcohol escalator tax) (Dec 7 2020)

Þ   Repeal the carbon tax (June 18, 2019)

Þ   Eliminate the carbon tax on fuel (June 7, 2019)

Þ   Promise not to further raise taxes (February 4, 2019)

Þ   Eliminate the carbon tax (Dec 4, 2018)

Þ   Provide details on how much the proposed carbon tax will cost Canadian families (June 14, 2018)

Þ   Cancel plans for new taxes (June 8, 2018)

Þ   Provide data used by government to develop Budget 2018 which would indicate how much the federal carbon tax will cost Canadian families (June 1, 2018)

Þ   Specific request for: “ the Department of Finance’s documents titled “Impact of a carbon price on households’ consumption costs across the income distribution” and ”Estimating economic impacts from various mitigation options for greenhouse gas emissions,” and any other documents that calculate the cost of carbon taxes on Canadian workers, businesses, and families.” (Feb 23, 2017)

Some of Mrs. Kusie’s interventions specific to the high cost of living can be found at the links below.

Conservatives will continue to watch for opportunities to reduce the tax burden on all Canadians. You may wish to sign our Axe the Tax petition which you can access here.