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Decentralized Democracy

Hon. Todd Smith

  • MPP
  • Member of Provincial Parliament
  • Bay of Quinte
  • Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
  • Ontario
  • Unit 8 5503 Hwy. 62 S Belleville, ON K8N 0L5 Todd.Smithco@pc.ola.org
  • tel: 613-962-1144
  • fax: 613-969-6381
  • Todd.Smithco@pc.ola.org

  • Government Page
  • Feb/20/24 11:30:00 a.m.

Thanks to the member opposite for the question. April 1 is the date of the carbon tax increase by the federal government, and that’s no joke, Mr. Speaker. It’s not just a carbon tax that’s costing gas customers more, it’s driving up the price of everything. The Minister of Agriculture knows just as well as anybody that it’s driving up the cost of fuel for tractors. It’s driving up the cost of fuel for drying the products as they come off the fields. It’s driving up the cost of all those trucks that are transporting to the distribution centres and then the cost of the trucks to get them to the grocery stores. It’s driving up the cost at the grocery stores because they pay carbon tax too.

There’s one party in this Legislature that’s opposed to the carbon tax, and that’s Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. On April 1, we have to, as a group here in this Legislature, pressure the federal government not to cause an increase to the affordability crisis for the people of Ontario and for the people of Canada.

While the NDP have waffled around a little bit on whether or not we should be removing the carbon tax off the price of gasoline and home heating fuels, one party has remained steadfast in their support for the federal carbon tax, and that’s Bonnie Crombie and the Liberal Party of Ontario. As a matter of fact, members have stood in this House from that caucus and said that the people of Ontario and people of Canada are better off as a result of having a carbon tax than they are in eliminating that carbon tax.

We will stand every day in opposition to this crippling carbon tax that’s driving up the price of not just—

Interjections.

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