The Conservative Party of Canada is calling on Ottawa to drop the federal tax on gas and diesel fuel for the rest of the year.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday that lifting the Fuel Excise Tax, Clean Fuel Standard and GST surcharges from gas and diesel would save about 25 cents a litre. Poilievre estimated the resulting reduction in tax revenue at $5.25 billion.
The party said it would permanently eliminate the Clean Fuel Standard after 2026.
Poilievre said affordable energy is the "lifeblood" of a strong economy.
He said that in order to cover the cost of the tax cut, the government should terminate a handful of programs and call off some planned projects, including the proposed high speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City.
"End the $90 billion Alto train disaster, cut back on consultants, bureaucracy, handouts to fake refugees, foreign aid and bureaucracy. Get rid of the multi-billion dollar gun grab that targets law abiding hunters, farmers and sport shooters," Poilievre said.
Alto, the Crown corporation overseeing the project, estimates the full cost of the 1,000-kilometre high-speed rail line at between $60 and $90 billion, with a completion date in 2037. Construction of the first phase of the line, linking Montreal and Ottawa, is set to begin in 2029 or 2030.
Poilievre said Canadians are paying 20 per cent more for gasoline than American consumers, due to a combination of taxes and a weaker Canadian dollar.
Poilievre noted that other countries, including Australia, Spain and Ireland, have already taken action to lower gas prices by reducing fuel taxes.
"The lower the better," he said. "Every penny that we can get reduced in taxes is a penny in the pocket of the people that earned it.
"It's time to have the government pinch its pennies, so Canadians don't have to."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
