When you increase costs for farmers, Canadians pay more for groceries. When you increase costs for truckers, Canadians pay more for groceries.
I'm Franco Terrazzano. I'm with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. I'm here on behalf of 235,000 Canadian taxpayers who want you to stop hiking the taxes that make it more expensive for farmers to make our food, for truckers to deliver our food and for families to buy that food.
There's an easy and quick way for the government to make food more affordable—stop hiking taxes—but in less than two weeks the government will raise the carbon tax for the fourth time since the beginning of the pandemic.
The carbon tax will increase the price of gas by 14 cents per litre and the price of diesel by 17 cents per litre.
Everything that gets delivered by truck will become more expensive, including your favourite kale salad.
After the tax hike, federal carbon, fuel and sales taxes will cost about 29 cents per litre of diesel. That means the big rig truck driver who delivers food to the store will pay about $260 in federal taxes every fuel up.
Farmers say that the carbon tax cost them about $14,000 on average in 2019, according to the CFIB. A higher carbon tax means it's more expensive for farmers to dry grain, and it means higher prices at the store.
The carbon tax on propane and natural gas will cost farmers $1 billion through 2030. That is according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
I will now read you a quote from Jeff Barlow, an Ontario corn, wheat and soybean farmer: “My competitors to the south of me in the United States do not pay that [carbon] tax, so now my cost goes up and I have no alternative. By penalizing me, there's nothing else that I can do but just be penalized.”
Less than a quarter of countries have a national carbon tax. That's according to the World Bank. Ottawa hiked taxes while many of our peers and competitors cut taxes during the pandemic. There are 51 other national governments that cut taxes. That includes more than half of the G7 and G20 countries, and it includes two-thirds of OECD countries.
Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, India and Portugal are among those countries that cut fuel taxes. Ottawa is getting ready to impose a second carbon tax through fuel regulations this summer.
British Columbia currently has a second carbon tax. It costs about 16 cents per litre of gas and 19 cents per litre of diesel. There are no rebates with the second carbon tax.
The more you tax, the less money Canadians have to afford higher-cost groceries. If you think you can raise taxes, skim some off the top and still make people better off with rebates, then I have some ocean-view property in Regina to sell you.
The carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 this year, even after the rebates. That's according to the PBO. That could be a couple weeks of groceries for a family of four, but it's being taxed away.
Lower and middle-income Canadians and households currently experiencing energy poverty, such as single mothers and seniors living on fixed income, will feel the most pain from the second carbon tax. That's according to the government's own analysis.
The higher carbon taxes are layered on top of higher payroll and higher alcohol taxes. According to a recent Leger poll, 74% of Canadians say families pay too much tax.
Fortunately, you can provide relief for your constituents. You can help make life and groceries more affordable. At the very least, you must stop hiking taxes.
Thank you.