Ontario Premier Doug Ford is finally taking action on his promise to lower the gas tax four years after it was made and one month before the official start of election season.
A bill was introduced today to temporarily lower the provincial gas tax by 5.7 cents a litre. This relief, however, only takes effect one month after the election and only through December 31, 2022.
Horray!
Ford promised to cut the tax by 10 cents a liter during the 2018 campaign, but has so far only managed to reduce it by 4.3 cents. Ford’s failure to fulfill his promise has followed him like a fart for years.
The provincial tax would temporarily drop to nine cents a litre, down from the current 14.7 cents. The drop would be slightly less for diesel fuel, 5.3 cents per liter.
“We’re going to give people a break for a minimum of six months.”
Premier Doug Ford
Finance Minister, Peter Bethlenfalvy, assured the public the cut would not affect the two cents per liter which is currently paid to municipalities to help fund public transportation.
Ford says lowering the gas tax has been “very complicated,” which is why it took four years. Us plebs would never understand. Though he hinted at the possibility of extending the tax break beyond 2022.
Canadians have seen gas prices rise because of several factors, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, OPEC’s refusal to increase production, and the federal carbon tax, which increased to 11.05 cents per liter last week.
Federal and provincial taxes, fees, tips, tolls and gratuities make up almost a third of the cost of a litre of gasoline.
