Anti-smoking groups push province to raise tax on tobacco

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This article was published 25/04/2019 (2407 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four anti-smoking groups are pushing the provincial government to include an amendment to its budget bill that would increase tobacco taxes instead of making cigarettes cheaper when the scheduled PST cut happens July 1.

Sarah Hawkins, a spokeswoman with the Canadian Cancer Society, said she and representatives from Heart & Stroke, the Lung Association of Manitoba, and the Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance met with the Manitoba government before it released Bill 16 in early March. At the time, they suggested the province increase the tobacco tax in the event of a possible provincial sales tax reduction.

The government didn’t follow their suggestion when it announced the one percentage point PST cut March 7.

“I don’t really want to speculate on their reasons for implementing the bill as they did. From a public health perspective, tobacco taxes aren’t just about government revenue. They are proven to be one of the most powerful policy tools we have to discourage youth from starting to smoke,” Hawkins said in an interview.

Manitoba has the highest tobacco taxes in Canada, but hasn’t implemented any new increases since 2015, Hawkins said.

In a letter sent to all members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba this week, the alliance of anti-smoking groups suggested adding a $1.15 tax increase per carton of cigarettes to offset the cost of the one percentage point PST reduction.

They pointed out the previous federal Conservative government under Stephen Harper undertook similar measures when it reduced the GST in 2006 and 2008, increasing tobacco taxes both times.

The advocates also suggested a tobacco tax increase could raise $5.5 million per year in revenue for the provincial government.

“We believe that this amendment is straightforward, would benefit public health and public revenue objectives, and would find support from all parties. We urge all MLAs to support the amendment at the earliest opportunity,” they wrote April 23.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen wouldn’t commit to implementing the suggested amendment Wednesday, but noted the issue is on the government’s radar.

“I think it’s a fair concern to raise by these groups and I would suggest that probably in the days to come, there will be a liaison with our minister of finance (Scott Fielding) on the issue, because this goes to pricing and it goes to provincial tax,” he said.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew criticized the government for not immediately committing to raise the tobacco tax.

“We actually are maybe a little bit surprised that they’re not willing to take a clear stand today against cancer. This is about fighting cancer. This is about ensuring young people don’t start smoking,” he said.

The Manitoba NDP raised two other health-related matters in the house Wednesday.

First, the party tabled results of a freedom-of-information request that showed the number of cardiac surgery cancellations at St. Boniface Hospital hit 449 between April 2016 and February 2019.

The surgery cancellations were broken down by month, and showed December 2018 was the hardest hit, with 35 procedures in need of rescheduling.

Friesen said the numbers were even higher under the former NDP government, but noted he was going to investigate whether there are more ways the government can prevent future cancellations.

The NDP also asked the government for the date of the previously-announced Concordia Hospital emergency room closure.

The minister couldn’t provide an exact date Wednesday, but said the province is looking at late June.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu