00:01:52.900Lead for affordable gas, groceries, and homes.
00:01:57.600That's why today I'm calling on the government to suspend all fuel taxes for the rest of the year.
00:02:04.520A policy that would save $0.25 a litre, about $20 a fill-up, and $1,200 for the average family of four between now and the end of the year.
00:02:17.300Outstanding. We're very happy to hear Pierre Polyev calling for a suspension of these fuel
00:02:22.180taxes. And he's right. If you do the math, that's going to save around $20 when you're filling up
00:02:29.220a family minivan. More if you're filling up, say, a standard pickup truck. And way more,
00:02:35.400of course, for truckers who are using diesel. And of course, everything around us. Okay,
00:02:42.420look around the room you're in right now. Look around the car you're driving. Look around the
00:02:47.500neighborhood you're walking. Everything that we use, everything that we eat is brought to us on
00:02:54.840trucks. And those trucks use diesel. When we have a high price for diesel combined with high taxes
00:03:03.180for diesel, things get unaffordable real fast. So it's excellent to see the leader of the
00:03:10.100Conservatives, the leader of the opposition, calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to fully
00:03:14.480suspend fuel taxes for the balance of the year. He was asked by the parliamentary press gallery
00:03:20.480reporters that were gathered there. I'm pretty sure that that gas station is in right downtown
00:03:25.640Ottawa. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was at Bank and Gladstone, just a few blocks from Parliament
00:03:30.660Hill. And I could hear press gallery reporters asking him questions of how much will this cost?
00:03:36.100well let's flip that around because it's taxpayers money so it would save taxpayers just over five
00:03:44.540billion dollars if they suspended all of these fuel tax for the balance of the calendar year
00:03:50.720that's an outstanding announcement and it would really help take the sting out of those fuel
00:03:56.340prices because across Canada right we're seeing these huge increases at the pump we're seeing
00:04:03.100these huge increases for both gasoline and diesel, and it's costing people a ton of money.
00:04:08.560What kind of taxes are we talking about? Well, there's like the federal excise tax. There is
00:04:13.740the industrial carbon tax, which is a hidden version of the carbon tax. There's the so-called
00:04:19.960low carbon fuel standard, which adds about seven extra cents per liter. And then of course,
00:04:26.260there's the GST that's added after all of those taxes. In fact, it becomes a tax on a tax.
00:04:33.100It winds up costing Canadians millions and millions and millions of dollars every year.
00:04:38.920Just the tax on tax, just at the fuel pumps.
00:04:43.100So now is the time definitely for governments across Canada to provide fuel tax relief.
00:04:49.820Good on PolyEvra making that announcement there federally.
00:04:53.620But provincially, I'm going to call people out here too.
00:04:57.200Provincially, premiers can do a lot here as well.
00:05:00.140Okay. From coast to coast, premiers across Canada can get rid of their provincial fuel taxes. That includes things like a sales tax in some jurisdictions, a provincial fuel tax in others. In British Columbia's case, they still have their own version of carbon taxes. In Quebec's case, also the French version of British Columbia, they also have their version of carbon taxes.
00:05:25.220So there are governments, including here in Alberta, where I live, there are governments
00:05:30.440that can reduce fuel taxes right now. In fact, here in Alberta, we actually have a mechanism
00:05:37.300that's baked into our legislation where if a barrel of oil goes over $90 per barrel for a
00:05:44.220balance of 20 days, we're supposed to have 13 cents per liter gone right off the pumps for
00:05:51.740gasoline and diesel, but it's always measured by quarter. So four times a year, they go in and
00:05:58.860they measure the fuel price, and then they're supposed to suspend or reduce the fuel tax here
00:06:05.240in Alberta. But we just missed the recent quarterly measurement. So technically, we would all have to
00:06:12.140wait until July, July, until we finally get some fuel tax relief. That's not good enough. We need
00:06:18.380to see provincial leaders and the federal leader take action now to save Canadians money at the
00:06:24.460pumps. Lots of other world governments are doing this. Okay. Look around the planet. Okay. You
00:06:29.920increase the price of a barrel of oil costs for everybody around the planet goes up. And we are
00:06:34.360seeing other global leaders taking a stand and reducing their fuel taxes. So it is high time
00:06:42.760for our political leaders here in Canada to tackle high gas prices.
00:06:49.560How do we actually get this done? Let's find out. Joining me now is, of course, Dan McTague. He is
00:06:56.060with Canadians for Affordable Energy. Dan, you have been an analyst in this arena for literally
00:07:02.000decades now. I had to get you back on the show because, my gosh, I was just looking over Pierre
00:07:07.600poly of shoulder during that press conference he had and gas is over a buck 80 per liter in Ontario
00:07:13.700that is astonishing so for folks who don't follow you know the price of a barrel of oil and all the
00:07:20.380global trade and stuff for energy why is the price of gasoline and diesel through the roof the last
00:07:27.180few weeks well it's obviously the product uh 20 of the world's production of oil has been uh put
00:07:33.740offline. And although a lot of ships left before the attack took place, those ships are returning
00:07:40.460to the same area, which is responsible for about 20% of the world's crude and even more
00:07:45.020of things like natural gas liquids, where the world gets about 40% to 50%.
00:07:49.320Things like diesel, things like gasoline and other petroleum products might be as high as
00:07:56.16028% to 30%. And so the fact that they're left, they've gone, they've done the delivery,
00:08:00.960They're making their way back and there's no chance of offloading more product means that we're heading towards a supply crunch.
00:08:09.620And that's why the longer the war goes on, Trump's comments this week, last evening in the address suggested three to four more weeks.
00:08:17.720He said this before. It looks like this is going to continue going on forever and ever.
00:08:22.220And of course, here's the real kicker. It's now affecting the West Texas Intermediate price.
00:08:28.740We've been pretty much insulated on the North American continent
00:08:31.840because this is a problem over there with Brent and other oils.
00:08:34.980But now, given that there's going to be a supply crunch,
00:08:37.380they're going to be coming to North American shores
00:08:39.400and showing up in the U.S. Gulf Coast and picking up oil if they can,
00:08:42.620and they're willing to pay a higher price for it.
00:08:44.320So oil prices are going up, diesel prices are going up,
00:08:47.160especially diesel, up $0.75 a litre since this began,
00:08:51.000and gasoline up $0.40, $0.42 across the country.
00:08:54.120You're paying $2.10 in Vancouver because they love taxes and they vote for it.
00:08:58.080In places like Toronto, yeah, they like taxes too.
00:09:01.460And we all in Quebec and the Maritimes and the 180s, 190 range.
00:09:05.680And by the way, Chris, the biggest tragedy for Canada,
00:09:09.100if anybody thought net zero and green policies were a smart idea,
00:09:12.720look at the value of the Canadian dollar.
00:09:14.140And why is that important for gas prices?
00:09:16.160139 pennies to buy a US dollar means all of our commodities,
00:09:19.400our purchase power has been massively reduced.
00:09:21.660The last time we've had energy crises or energy issues like this,
00:09:25.980The Canadian dollar always rose to the challenge, almost met parity with the United States, with the U.S. dollar.
00:09:31.400It's 40 cents additional for every liter of gasoline.
00:09:35.980So elbows up, vote for your net zero, worry about, you know, a molecule somehow affecting the weather.
00:09:43.080By the way, check outside today, it's pretty damn cold out here.
00:09:45.720But at the same time, if you think that's a real smart idea and you voted for it four times since 2015,
00:09:51.520well, hey, 2015 anymore, folks, and you're paying for it because you voted for it.
00:09:55.980Can you slow that down for us and explain? Because Pierre Polyev mentioned it during his presser today, just a few minutes ago in Ottawa. And he said, basically to paraphrase, if we had had our ducks in a row and not been dumb and actually had all of our oil and gas going and we're using our natural resources to the best of our ability, that our dollar would be at par or at least close to it by now.
00:10:19.660explain for our viewers and listeners why does that matter why would the price of a barrel of
00:10:25.780oil if we were actually full steam ahead why would that bring our dollar up close to par
00:10:31.360well our dollar is pegged based on the u.s dollar all of our commodities whether we make them here
00:10:37.940or we buy them from elsewhere it usually follows a particular pattern it follows a particular
00:10:43.280currency. And in this case, the U.S. dollar is the almighty dollar. And in the past,
00:10:49.420we've had an energy crisis. Countries that have energy usually benefit, and they still do,
00:10:54.220except Canada. Because we've decided in this country that there's no business case for oil
00:10:58.840and gas, and we've imposed massive restrictions on their ability to be approved, much less permitted,
00:11:05.140much less flow. We are now reaping a very bitter harvest. It is a self-inflicted wound. The same
00:11:12.640way that Trump has done some things that make us upset with him the reality is it's Donald Trump's
00:11:17.780policies that have really underscored and highlighted the frivolity of Canadian policy
00:11:23.780over the past 10 years say yeah we don't care about our resources we'll just go around and
00:11:27.840maybe pretend that we can have pixie dust or some kind of other element that we should be pursuing
00:11:33.920but the biggest problem we have and it's undeniable is that when you block pipelines or you tell a
00:11:39.020company like Kinder Morgan, as we did many years ago, to get lost and get public money to build
00:11:44.320a pipeline that is desperately needed, you send a message to the rest of the world that Canada is
00:11:48.760not open for business, they're not interested in trade, and therefore no one wants to buy Canadian
00:11:53.240assets. And as a result of that, our Canadian dollar used to be always in the vicinity,
00:11:59.000especially during the energy crisis, of the U.S. dollar. And I see 2012 when we took out Muammar
00:12:03.820Gaddafi, there was a massive price. The Canadian dollar achieved parity with the U.S. dollar.
00:12:09.020It takes 139.3 Canadian pennies to buy a U.S. dollar.
00:12:14.340That means that you and I are purchase power.
00:12:16.660We lose 40 cents on every liter of gasoline.
00:12:19.460Imagine what it's doing with the cost of food, the cost of forestry, the cost of mining.
00:12:23.580We are losing a battle because we've embraced the ideology, the green, woke, net zero narrative
00:12:30.420that has basically left us all with net zero in our pockets.
00:12:34.960I wanted to get, I'll give an example in a second, but just to your point.
00:12:39.020on how this is hindering us economically and investment-wise.
00:12:43.280We just recently saw a major Canadian oil and gas company
00:19:03.200How should we tackle this as far as cutting taxes on our fuels?
00:19:07.540Well, it's clear something has to be done in the absence of the government having taken the right position in terms of fighting to have a stronger Canadian dollar.
00:19:15.400Those taxes, so 40 cents on a liter of gasoline.
00:19:17.740Think about it, that 139 I was referring to as you net many pennies to buy U.S. dollar amounts to a massive tax.
00:19:23.660So if you're not going to do that, you've lost the opportunity to recover that.
00:19:28.200at least try to find it from somewhere else. But even before we get to the issue of all the other
00:19:32.080taxes that federal and provincial governments are taking, even municipal in some cases of Montreal
00:19:36.060and Victoria and Vancouver, why are we looking at the fact that the federal government is taking
00:19:41.2405% of the higher price? It has no business doing that. It knows it's morally wrong, it's ethically
00:19:47.960wrong, it's politically wrong, and it's economic stupidity. Because the more you tax people in a
00:19:53.320time of difficulty, the less economic vitality you're going to have. So on the issue of taxation
00:19:58.180I think we have to take a whole scattergun approach, which is basically, you know, lob the grenade into the policymakers laps and let the let the let the outcome be what it's going to have to be, because the way the country is going right now is in unmistakable decline made no better by a federal government that, you know, disincentivizes people from creation, from getting investments in this country, creating conditions by which no one is prepared to work.
00:20:24.440think of the MOU in the pipeline. The MOU is DOA. We know that. But it's DOA because nobody in their
00:20:29.880right mind, including Canadian companies, are prepared to get involved in investing in Canada
00:20:33.420and building a better future because of the economic prohibitions that have been placed,
00:20:40.860roadblocks that have been placed by the left. The Greens, that is the NDP, the Bloc, and the
00:20:45.940Liberals have basically put Canada on a collision course to an inevitable crash. And I think the
00:20:51.820only way to get out of it is to say we need to do something about taxation. We also need to deal
00:20:57.800with the issue of the other tax, which is the carbon, the clean fuel standard, the carbon taxes
00:21:04.220that are there, as well as the fact that the Canadian economy is not attracting investments.
00:21:09.060So the simple way, in my view, get the provincial governments, Ontario, Quebec, Eastern Canada,
00:21:15.280and the federal government to give back the 13, 14 and 15 percent fleecing as they are taking
00:21:21.620advantage of the war, a terrible war in Iraq and the price consequence that is affecting every
00:21:27.140Canadian. I don't care if you drive a vehicle or not, you're getting smacked in the side of the
00:21:30.640head. So you can pretend you're driving your little EV around or your little four sliced
00:21:34.760toaster on wheels or golf cart, or you can say, I don't, I don't drive, therefore I don't need to
00:21:39.240worry. You're damn right. You have to worry. The government's policies in this case have an
00:21:43.620extraordinarily detrimental taxation policy and green policies combined have made a very poisonous
0.50
00:21:49.680elixir for the future of this country what you're talking about there with the five percent of
00:21:54.900course is the sales tax the gst the federal sales tax and can you just i know you have to go and i
00:22:00.540know that this war in iran is increasing the price all over the place there's a lot of uncertainty
00:22:04.780but before you have to go can you explain why it is that they're able to take more using that five
00:22:10.940percent sales tax and how it actually results as a tax on attack yes so if I'm in Saskatchewan and
00:22:15.960you know diesel selling for $1.35 $1.40 back in February it's now $1.92 to $2 a liter that's a
00:22:25.68070 cent a liter increase well guess who takes five percent of that 70 cents that's the federal
00:22:30.880government so if I'm looking at the number of liters sold in Canada over two over 200 million
00:22:37.000a day, and I'm adding 5% plus in Eastern Canada, half of the use, at 8% and 9% and 7%, that's
00:22:46.420in both cases, each government winding up with two, three million bucks a day each.
00:22:52.060Multiply that by the 30 days since the war has begun, and you can see why they probably
00:22:56.120collected, or will by this time next week, have collected a quarter billion dollars from
00:23:00.640taxpayers and from Canadians and from drivers who are hard-pressed because they have imposed
00:23:06.680a 13 percent uh you know uh restriction uh on and and added to the price by uh by by collecting in
00:23:14.360a time in which people are are really suffering as a result of the rise in prices that's the
00:23:19.000totality of what they've done paul martin's government to john kretzen's government knew
00:23:23.480that was a problem in 2000 that's why they went along with dan mctegg's proposal to have that
00:23:27.320rebated and it was i don't necessarily think the gsd rebate is the way to go about it but damn it
00:23:32.360Take off that 5%, Mr. Kearney, Mr. Ford, Mr. Legault, and the premiers of the Maritimes.
00:23:40.560Take the 8% that you have on the rise, on the increased cost.
00:23:44.780It is a windfall that does not belong to you.
00:23:54.460In 2000, it was based on the recommendation I'd made in 1998, the government found a way to get the GST back to Canadians,
00:24:00.220especially in an environment of higher prices.
00:24:02.360In essence, governments in eastern Canada and the federal government are taking advantage of this tragedy, this higher price, by adding their own 5% or 8%.
00:24:11.500And that, to me, is immoral, it's wrong, it's unethical, and certainly is, by my standard, illiberal.
00:24:18.800Dan McTague, of course, he was a long-time liberal member of Parliament back when, frankly, I remember when Prime Minister Paul Martin said that damn clock, and he was scared of the debt, and he actually did stuff that made fiscal sense.
00:24:32.840Dan, thank you so much for fighting for Canadians and fighting for affordable energy.