Kelowna-Lake Country Conservative MP Tracy Gray doesn't mince words when it comes to the ever-rising carbon tax.
"We (the federal Conservative party) would cancel the carbon tax (if we were in power)," Gray told KelownaNow.
"As Canadians face a generational cost-of-living crisis, now is not the time to be increasing taxes. The carbon tax is not an environmental plan, but a tax grab."
Gray's comments come as the carbon tax is set to rise yet again on April 1.
The levy per litre of gasoline goes from 11.05 cents to 14.31 cents, the tax on natural gas will increase from 9.79 cents to 12 cents per cubic metre and for diesel its 13.01 cents to 16.85 cents per litre.
The ruling federal Liberals have also scheduled more increases every April 1 through 2026 to triple the carbon tax from what it started at in 2019.
"The carbon tax perpetuates increasing inflation," said Gray.
"The carbon tax contributes to inflation because it affects everything from the gas you put in your car, the fuel you heat your home with and increases the cost of everything that is transported to you and your community like food and household goods and construction materials."
While the Liberals double down on carbon tax increases for Canadians, many other jurisdictions are cutting fuel taxes, including Australia, the UK, South Korea, Germany, Holland, Italy, Israel, Poland and India.
In fact, more than half of G7 and G20 countries, and two-thirds of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, are cutting taxes in an effort to tame inflation, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
The Conservatives would scrap the carbon tax and address environmental issues with a whole policy that focuses on carbon capture and using clean, Canadian-produced LNG (liquefied natural gas) to power this country and other countries via exports, according to Gray.
To off-set the carbon tax on low-and-moderate income earners in Canada, there's the Climate Action Tax Credit.
The credit has led the Liberals to claim that families are better off with the carbon tax and rebates.
However, even after rebates, the average Canadian household will pay between $402 and $847 on carbon tax in 2023, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the office of the Parliament of Canada, which provides independent and non-partisan financial and economic analysis.
"If you're willing to believe the feds will raise taxes, skim some off the top (for salary increases for themselves) and somehow make families better off, then we have ocean-side property in Regina to sell you," said Franco Terrazzano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should scrap the carbon tax to save families hundreds of dollars every year."
The federal excise tax will also go up April 1, by another 6.3%.
That will impact the price of beer (which is already half taxes), wine (which is already comprised of 65% taxes) and spirits (which is already three-quarters tax).
