Mr. Speaker, the transport minister thinks our cities should start charging road tolls. There is a better idea.
The Liberals should start giving provinces their fair share of gas tax revenue. Thirty eight per cent of what we are paying at the pumps goes into government coffers. The government rakes in nearly $5 billion in gas taxes annually, but it spends merely $113 million on roadway development, just two and a quarter per cent. As gasoline prices soar, so do government revenues as the Liberals continue to charge taxes on taxes. The Ottawa gas tax rip-off is highway robbery.
Transportation is critical to B.C.'s economy and public safety. Money is needed for repairs to the Sea to Sky Highway and public transit, but instead the government has one boondoggle after another.
The government should dedicate more of the gasoline taxes to highway spending, eliminate the one and a half cent per litre deficit-financing gasoline tax and stop charging GST on gasoline taxes.