In 2015, Trudeau noted that, “This is a tougher economy than it needs to be for the middle class and those who want to join it.” Since then, he has only made the situation worse.
With inflation hitting 7.7 per cent in May, nearly 50 per cent higher than a year earlier, and gas prices averaging around $2/litre, an increase of 60 per cent compared to last summer, however, those policies are proving to be economically devastating for the middle class.
The Trudeau Liberals had a choice to make: offer short-term relief for the working people they claim to be the defenders of, or prioritize their ideologically driven climate agenda at the expense of low-income and middle-class Canadians. They clearly chose the latter.
For months, the Liberals have been trying to deflect blame for rising prices by constantly reminding Canadians that inflation is a global problem resulting from factors that are largely out of their control. While strictly true, they have also steadfastly refused to do anything about government
policies that contribute to high prices, such as the federal gasoline and carbon taxes, which collectively add about 21 cents per litre at the pump.
Speaking in the House of Commons last month, Liberal MP
Rachel Bendayan said the government would not reduce gas taxes because “there is absolutely no guarantee these large oil and gas companies will pass on any savings to Canadian consumers.” That notion was disproved on July 1, when Ontario removed its 5.7-cent fuel tax and pump prices immediately dropped.
Government tone deaf to rising fuel prices
apple.news
Other provinces, including Alberta and Newfoundland, have also lowered taxes. As has every other G7 country. But not the Government of Canada. In fact, not only are the Liberals digging in their heels and refusing to do anything about policies that make life less affordable, they’re doubling down by imposing new fuel and vehicle standards that will only make things worse.
Last week, the Liberals quietly announced new “
clean fuel regulations,” which will force energy companies to reduce the “carbon intensity” of their fuels. The announcement was made without the usual pomp and fanfare we’ve come to expect from this government.
There was no gloating about how Trudeau is saving us from a warmer future; no virtue-signalling about how Canada is leading the way for other countries to follow. Because the Liberals know full well that the new regulations will only add to the financial strain felt by many Canadians.
The
government’s own analysis estimates the new rules will increase the cost of diesel between seven and 16 cents, and add upwards of 13 cents per litre of gasoline, thus increasing “production costs for primary suppliers, which will increase prices for households and industrial users” and decrease GDP by $9 billion over the next eight years.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, a federal agency, is pushing ahead with its
Rolling Truck Age Program, which is set to take effect Sept. 15 and will forbid all trucks over 12 years old from entering the Port of Vancouver. The new regulation is expected to affect 360 drivers, or about 20 per cent of the trucks that currently move containers to and from the port.
This will prove to be a significant expense for many independent drivers and smaller shipping companies and will surely end up being passed on to consumers. Existing problems with snarled supply chains and increasing costs of food and consumers goods will be further exacerbated if the United Truckers Association goes ahead with a planned strike in August to protest the new measures.
While the new fuel standards and the Rolling Truck Age Program were in the works well before the current inflationary mess, the Liberals have steadfastly refused to address programs that artificially inflate prices and have instead moved ahead with policies that show just how little regard they have for middle-class Canadians.