The federal Conservatives on Tuesday escalated their calls on the governing Liberals to scrap all additional federal taxes on gas and diesel for the remainder of the year, including the GST, presenting a motion in the House of Commons that would also permanently end the clean fuel standard.
The affordability push comes after the Liberals instituted a temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax last month, which will expire on Labour Day, amid sky-high gas prices brought by the conflict in the Middle East and resulting energy supply shortages.
Speaking outside the House of Commons while the motion was being debated by MPs, Conservative finance critic Jasraj Singh Hallan said the suspension did not go far enough.
“Canadians need a break,” he said.
“The Liberals have only introduced half-measures. They’re only taking a third of the tax off for a third of the year when it comes to fuel taxes. That’s why Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre, in today’s opposition day motion, are calling for all federal fuel taxes to be removed for the rest of the year.”
Hallan said the measure, if passed, would save Canadian families 25 cents per litre of fuel for a total of $1,200 this year on average.
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The motion introduced by Poilievre quotes Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne telling reporters on May 19 that “we’ve already acted” when asked if the government was considering extending the fuel excise tax suspension or additional tax relief.
Champagne defended the government’s affordability agenda during debate in the House of Commons just before Hallan spoke, pointing to the cancellation of the consumer carbon price last year.
“We have taken a suite of measures, Mr. Speaker, to reduce the price of fuel across the country,” he said.
He urged Conservatives to support legislation that would implement the fuel excise tax suspension and other tax relief measures introduced in the spring economic update tabled last month.
“I can see in their eyes and in their smiles, Mr. Speaker, that they will intend to vote, and we’re going to look for that,” he said, “because their constituents are going to be watching if they vote in fact for support that will reduce fuel costs.”
The government says the excise tax suspension, combined with the scrapping of the carbon price, will lower gas prices by nearly 30 cents per litre.
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