Scheer tells Manitobans: ‘fill your tank’

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This article was published 28/03/2019 (2474 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A new political campaign could have Winnipeggers crowding out the city’s gas pumps this weekend, ahead of Monday’s introduction of the federal carbon tax.

The price of gas is set to jump 4.6 cents as of April 1, including GST, while the cost to book a flight or fill a propane tank will likely rise this year.

It’s part of the Liberal government’s plan to offset carbon emissions by raising the cost of carbon-intensive goods. The revenue is being remitted in tax credits as well as carbon-reducing projects, in the province it was collected.

While the Liberals dub their plan “a price on pollution,” the Conservatives say it will raise the cost of living on everything due to transportation costs.

The party has launched a mass text-message campaign in Manitoba and the other three provinces where the federal carbon levy kicks next week. The Tories are taking aim at the Liberals while harvesting data from possible supporters.

Some Winnipeggers received a message late Wednesday from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, noting the expected 4.6 cent rise in fuel, “so fill your tank!”

The message asks people “to help get rid of” the carbon levy by signing a petition on the party’s National Builder site, a platform used to harvest potential voters and target them for donations and votes.

This technique has been deployed by conservative parties in Ontario and Alberta.

A tax on propane of 3.1 cents per litre will also apply Monday, but Finance Canada did not answer whether this will apply instantly at the pumps — or instead, for example, at fuel-distribution centres.

Various jet fuel taxes will raise airlines’ costs for inter-provincial flights by a few dollars per passenger; the federal levy does not currently apply to flights crossing provincial boundaries.

Scheer will also have a radio ad airing in Winnipeg in which he promises to “scrap the Trudeau carbon tax.” He also laments “a special discount” for heavy emitters, referring to the Liberals’ cap-and-trade system for industry which is similar to what conservative governments have implemented.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched his own radio ad this month, touting his carbon levy as a way to ensure a healthier planet. “Some politicians want to go to back to the Harper years where pollution was free,” Trudeau says in the ad.

Premier Brian Pallister ran his own attack ads last year when he was rolling out a carbon tax, which called for a flat $25-per tonne levy, instead of the federal tax that starts at $20 and rises by $10 each year. He later scrapped the tax.

Ottawa is providing an upfront tax credit to residents in each province where the federal levy will apply. For adult Winnipeggers that’s $170 per person and $187 for those in rural Manitoba — but lower for each person in a shared household as well as children.

The average Manitoba family of four will receive $339. The credit is automatically tabulated by most software when Canadians submit their 2018 income tax electronically.

The upfront cash is meant to make up for most of the added costs borne by taxpayers. It means those who drive gas-guzzling SUVs will pay more than those who take the bus.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca