44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 22, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/22/22 4:55:39 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we understand that budgets simply do not balance themselves. It does not matter whether it is a government budget or a household budget, it is worth mentioning that we understand that budgets do not balance themselves. It takes work and effort.
Right now Canadian families and individuals across this country are having a hard time making ends meet. I have heard many members in the chamber add their thoughts and arguments to the debate today. Some have been constructive and others not so much, but it is worth clarifying a couple of facts.
GST on fuel is a tax on a tax. The price of gasoline is determined by a competitive market and one of the key components in that price is the price of crude oil and the refinery costs. When crude oil prices go up, the cost of gasoline typically ends up following. Then there are the federal gasoline tax, the provincial sales tax, the provincial gasoline tax and the carbon tax. That price, with all of those taxes, is then taxed by GST on the whole. Effectively, when the cost of gasoline increases, the amount of GST collected continues to increase.
What we are witnessing right now across our country is among the highest inflation rates in a generation. Compared to last year alone, we have seen increases in inflation of 5.7%. That means that the cost to get household goods and services has increased, but wages have stayed stagnant. There are statistics and figures showing that groceries are costing the average family of four an additional $1,000 a year.
I do not know about anyone else, but I talk to a lot of constituents and families throughout my riding of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake and they let me know that they do not have an extra $1,000 to put toward groceries, they really do not. They are struggling, and they need relief. They need relief today. This is part of why this motion was put forward, to put a small, yet meaningful, pause on the GST collected on gasoline to provide families with a little hope and a bit of relief.
It is worth noting that currently 53% of Canadians have said they have a hard time making ends meet already due to the rising prices of everything. Every time gasoline goes up, the cost of everything increases because it has a sort of escalator tax on it. I live very far north in Alberta, the furthest north one can get at least in a car, and people there pay more than what people further south pay.
For instance, when I filled up my gas tank this weekend, it was $1.659. In Edmonton, a big city that is four and a half hours away, it was $1.559. That is a difference of 10¢ a litre and is worth noting. Every time someone travels somewhere and gasoline costs more, the fixed costs are more. If we talk about food, the prices increase. If we talk about just about anything, the business owner has a choice of either raising the price of goods or decreasing their profits. That is a real, hard fact.
This very issue was seen in my home province of Alberta. It announced that it was going to stop collecting a fuel tax effective April 1 when West Texas Intermediate exceeds $80 U.S. a barrel. It will result in a reduction of 13¢ a litre on clear fuel and 4¢ a litre on dyed fuel. While this does not solve the problem of inflation by any means, it is a small, meaningful difference that people will see at the gas pumps that will help them make ends meet today.
That is the real difference here. I have heard many of my colleagues mention longer-term projects, but what they are failing to understand is that many families are failing to make ends meet right now, today, each and every day. This is something that we really have to put into play.
In my riding, I jokingly say that everything starts at three hours. It is three hours from my community of Fort McMurray to get to the next closest community, which is Lac La Biche. It is four and a half hours by vehicle to get from Fort McMurray to Edmonton. Many people all throughout my riding constantly have to go to Edmonton for medical appointments and a variety of different specialized appointments, just because of the locality and the isolation of the region.
I think that this is a piece that perhaps not all members necessarily understand. We do not really have a choice in my riding to take a bus to get to most places. Unfortunately, that transit, similar to what some of the members have shared, in those rural ridings is not necessarily always an option. Families in my riding are being faced with the very real struggle of whether they fill up their gas tank so they can drive to work, drive their kids to school, get groceries and get to appointments, or heat their homes and keep their lights on.
Effectively, families should not be pushed into this decision where they are having to make those choices. I do not think that families really care whether global supply chains are the reason why the costs have gone up. I do not think they really care that it is due to a war in Ukraine. What they see is a harder time to make the two ends meet, and they are asking for help. I had countless conversations with constituents over the last couple of weeks, where they were just telling me that they really could use just a little bit of a hand-up. That is exactly what this motion puts forward. It offers a hand-up to constituents to give them that little bit of relief.
I was doing some calculations and I have a conservative estimate that an average vehicle that has about 65 litres in its tank will see a savings of about $5.20 per fill-up. That five dollars might not be a big deal to some, but when I was filling up with gas over the constituency weeks, I could see a constituent and they were only putting $10 into their tank. That is all they had. They could only put $10 into their tank. I was not sure where they were even planning to go in Fort McMurray with $10 in their tank. I think this is part of the concern here. They want to keep their fridges stocked, their lights on and their gas tanks full, and I think this is the very least we can do right now.
The government is actually profiting on increased gas prices in countless ways, so we are offering a simple solution to allow consumers to have just a little bit of relief, so that they too can have some of that back in their pockets so that they can make those choices as to whether they want, perhaps, a little bit of a treat and go out to the movies or something along those lines. It has been a long couple of years where we have not been able to do those things and now that they finally are able to travel and now that they finally are able to go visit, they cannot afford to because gas is so expensive.
This is something that the members opposite might laugh at, but it is four and a half hours to get to Edmonton from Fort McMurray. That is a long distance and there is not a train. There are only a few flights a day that are even an option and flights are exponentially more expensive.
What they are looking for is just a little tiny bit of relief. I would implore all members of the House to keep in mind that family that is struggling and needs that extra five dollars or $10 in their pocket, and work with us. Let us work to make life a little bit more affordable for Canadians because, quite frankly, they really could use it.
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- Mar/22/22 5:05:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I guess we can really clearly hear the Liberal-NDP coalition well at play in that question.
What is important to note is that the cost of fuel has increased by 32.3% in one year alone. This is a massive increase in the cost of fuel, and it is incumbent on the government to take some actions to make sure it provides relief to families who are struggling to make ends meet today and not in some long-term five years from now that families would get assistance.
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- Mar/22/22 5:07:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I think she highlighted some important points since she and I both represent large, rural ridings. I believe it is very important to do what we can to ensure that we are working with all the provinces to get help and reduce the cost of gas across Canada.
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- Mar/22/22 5:08:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the member probably is aware, I was elected in 2021, so many of the measures he discussed are not on my voting record. However, I do support my colleagues in fighting for Canadians. I am proud of the Conservative record in supporting Canadians all across this country and fighting for affordability.
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- Mar/22/22 5:09:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, perhaps I misspoke at some point. There actually is a bus service that goes from Fort McMurray down through Edmonton and all the way to Calgary. It is called the Red Arrow, and it is a spectacular service. In my time as an MLA, I took the Red Arrow on a few occasions because it would cost less money, it was a more humane way to travel and it was better for the environment.
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