Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, a very close friend of the Prime Minister, said in early September that putting a carbon tax on home heating fuel would place “undue economic burdens on the people of this province.” The four Atlantic premiers wrote to the federal environment minister around the same time to request an exemption on the deadline to end the tax exemption on home heating fuel. They were flatly turned down by the Liberal government, whose intent to tax the right to heat one's home reflects its cult-like beliefs that taxing the essentials of life will lower carbon emissions. The NDP coalition partners are partial to the same cult-like beliefs. According to the chair of the Council of Atlantic Premiers, energy poverty in Atlantic Canada is nearly 40%, the highest in the country.
Atlantic Canadians are counting on their MPs to stand with them when they stand to vote today on a motion to axe the carbon tax on home heating fuel.