QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Carbon Tax
September 18, 2024
Leader, the Canadian Trucking Alliance recently issued a report detailing how the carbon tax is making everything more expensive. It stated, in part:
By 2030, the carbon tax will add more than $4 billion to annual trucking costs, an overall increase of about 15%. . . . Due to razor thin margins in the trucking industry, these added costs cannot be absorbed and must be passed on to customers. As virtually every good purchased by Canadian families and businesses involves truck transportation, this means those families and businesses are paying increasingly higher prices for those goods to pay for this ineffective tax.
Leader, what is the NDP-Liberal government’s response to the Canadian Trucking Alliance report?
Thank you for your question, senator. I don’t know what the NDP’s response is these days, as they have recently made some statements, apparently backing away from their previous commitment to address climate change in a serious way.
As for this government, I will continue to remind the Senate that the government’s position is that the price on pollution remains the most effective market-sensitive tool. And I remind Canadians that in 8 out of 10 cases, individuals receive more money back in carbon rebates than the carbon tax affects them.
Yes, I agree that it is confusing to understand where the NDP stands on these issues. However, the Canadian Trucking Alliance says that in 2024 alone the carbon tax is adding $2 billion in trucking costs. This is at a time of record food bank use, and more Canadians report skipping meals due to expensive groceries. Leader, by taxing the trucker who ships the food, you tax the people who buy the food. Why doesn’t the NDP-Liberal government understand this?
The Government of Canada understands very well what Canadians are experiencing but stands by its credible analysis, and it’s no disrespect to the alliance. They are entitled to their point of view and to prosecute their interests in a free and democratic society. The impact of the price of pollution on inflation is negligible; credible reports and analyses demonstrate that.
