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Lloydminster sees ease at the pump as federal carbon tax hikes up

As the Alberta government has cut its provincial fuel tax, drivers including here in Lloydminster are saving 13-cents on every litre of gasoline or diesel they purchase.

The Alberta government move will stay in place until at least June 30 when the future of the tax will be reviewed based on a sliding scale of the price of West Texas Intermediate crude.

Officials estimate that with the corresponding reduction in GST, this amounts to total savings of about $6.80 per tank for a compact car (50 litres), $7.21 for a small SUV (53 litres), $12.65 for a mid-size SUV (93 litres), $18.50 for a large pickup truck (136 litres) and $185.50 for a semi-trailer (1,364 litres).

The Alberta move comes on the same day (April 1st) that the Federal government is raising the carbon tax to $50 per tonne of emissions. This sees a rise of 2.21 cents per litre on gasoline and 2.68 cents per litre on diesel.

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Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs calls it the breaking point for many as Canadians face rising prices on essentials like food, fuel, heating and housing. Stubbs references the Parliamentary Budget Office report which indicated that “60 per cent of households are worse off financially despite the rebates from the carbon tax and that 80 per cent in Ontario will be worse off by 2024, with the same in Alberta by 2028.”

However researchers at the Canadian Climate Institute say the PBO’s report does not factor the cost of doing nothing to mitigate climate change.

Environment and Climate Change Canada say that with the rebates in 2022-23, a family of four will see payments of about:

  • $1,079 in Alberta
  • $1,101 in Saskatchewan.

The Federal government says it returns 90 per cent of tax through carbon pricing to consumers. The remainder goes to Indigenous groups, schools, universities, municipalities, small businesses and farmers.

Stubbs points out that the carbon tax does not do what its supporters claim it’s supposed to do and references British Columbia which she states “has the longest standing, highest carbon tax, but emissions increase every year.”

Stubbs says it’s all economic pain for no environmental gain and the Conservatives are calling on the NDP-Liberals to not just stop the carbon tax hike, but to axe the carbon tax.

Residents in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario starting in July will again get their federal tax-free Climate Action Incentive Payments (CAIP) automatically every quarter.

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