Statistics Canada, in their first report, said, “In Saskatchewan, the collection of the carbon levy ceased in January 2024, contributing to the province's year-over-year price decline of natural gas”. We're seeing it in Manitoba as well. The Province of Manitoba has forgone their fuel tax on the fuel they sell each and every day. What you're seeing is that the CPI is lowering in Manitoba as well.
My question to this committee would be this: If we were to lower—not increase, but lower or eliminate—what will be the 17¢ per litre of fuel charged to all Canadians this coming Monday, when they fuel their vehicles up to take their children to soccer or hockey or whatever sport or school they might be going to, what do you think that would do to our consumer price index across the nation? We'd likely achieve our 2%. We're at 2.7% now.
I think that would be positive. It would give the Bank of Canada the opportunity, hopefully, to start to lower the interest rate and start to solidify that certainty for investment, both foreign and domestic, into Canadian communities and Canadian industries, which, again, I would allude to as being the most sustainable in the world. The Saskatchewan story around the most sustainable food, fuel and fertilizer that we produce and provide to the world—Ontario has a parallel story and Quebec has a parallel story—is a story we told when we went to COP28 in Dubai. This is a story that we would encourage each of you, as federal members representing Canadians, and all of us collectively representing all Canadians, to share at every opportunity.
We are not climate laggards in this nation. We most certainly are innovators and leaders when it comes to addressing the challenges that we might face globally.