Ford government to introduce legislation to temporarily cut gas taxes

The Ford government introduced legislation that would cut gas tax for six months if passed. The change would take effect after the June election.

Premier Doug Ford says he’s fulfilling his promise. “The people of Ontario and across the country have just been getting gauged day in and day out. It’s about time that the government starts putting money back into the people’s pockets instead of the government’s pocket.”

By cutting the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax, which includes diesel, by 5.3 cents per litre. If the legislation gets passed it’ll go into effect July 1st but it’ll only last for six months until the end of the year.

Last fall, Ford said he would deliver on his 2018 promise to implement the remaining 5.7 cent cut on gas prices before the upcoming budget, but then backtracked.

The President of Canadians for Affordable Energy says it may not seem big but it makes a big difference. “I don’t think the government has much room to move and maneuver, it’s having to subsidize your electricity rates to many 6.5 billion bucks a year, it does its work in terms of providing people a bit of a break when it comes to license plates and rebating money there.”

Opposition parties say it’s a political move.

Dan McTeague says that cutting fuel tax helps with inflation. “That’s the stuff that runs the economy. Without a move to try to alleviate the cost of diesel, you’re going to continue to see massive pressure on the price of everything most notably what we’re seeing at the grocery checkout.” He adds that the recent sharp rise in diesel prices impacts the cost of everything by driving prices up.