Axe the Tax!
(WtF?)
The hysteria will be setting in, with an Ontario snap election in a month and a certain spring National election. Poilievre has been shouting ‘Axe the Tax’, meaning the Federal Carbon Tax, for months (if not years at this point). You can be sure his Conservative Party will be rejoicing at the absence of Justin Trudeau (because everything that has impacted Canadian’s personal cost of living is entirely that one person’s fault). There is already statements being made from Poilievre that Canadians just can not afford any measures that would combat Climate Change.
But what is it REALLY costing you?
Caveat : I am now a senior, living on fixed income (OAS). I am rural (no transit). As of 2023, my artisan blacksmith business had effectively collapsed.
I gathered data here from two sources :
Statistics Canada
CBC - ‘ Is the carbon tax an easy scapegoat for high food prices?’ Aaron Wherry, October 7, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carbon-tax-food-prices-wherry-analysis-1.6989547
That article, although admittedly from a year back, does have hard numbers from reliable sources - and a simple ‘plug in your own numbers’ estimation you can run against your own household expenses.
My own 2024 household expenses
Food $4717 (two adults)
The CBC article gives the increase due to carbon tax at 0.05 % $235.85
Gasoline $2500 (two vehicles) $300 (E)
Gasoline is an extremely rough estimate, as I have numbers for my purchases (6 months with a Jeep 3.6 L x 6, 6 months with an Outback 2.5 L x 4). The other vehicle is a Fit 2 L x 4, for which I guess-timated as 2/3 my own amount) The number from Stats-Can is based on cost per litre of $0.18. I only had the total I spent, so used an average cost at $1.50 per litre to come up with a total of 1667 litres.
Other Expenses $7917 $11.88
This includes the fixed amounts of Hydro / Property Taxes / Home Insurance, plus spending on repairs. Our home is electric heat, which ALL comes out of Bruce Nuclear. How much property tax and insurance could be effected by Carbon Tax is questionable. For this number I used the figure quoted in the CBC article, sourced from RBC economists, that the amount of inflation caused directly in Canada by the Carbon Tax specifically is at 0.15 % (i.e., almost nothing).
Communications $2024 $3.03
This includes Telephone and Internet. Again applying the general inflation contribution explained above.
Total Carbon Tax Payments $551
Total Carbon Tax Rebated $638
Balance + $87
Obviously I did in fact spend some other money outside of household expenses.
I rarely eat at restaurants. Almost no clothing purchases (and those commonly at value village). Gifts are most typically books. Given that any of those purchases would only have 0.15 cents on the dollar applied to them, they are not worth including.
I did purchase a used vehicle this year, but as this was a 2017, so manufactured well before the Carbon Tax was started, that number is not included.
Axe the Tax?
Mr. Poiliere, the now proven impact of Climate Change ensures we can either pay a small amount now, or a massive amount later. Your song only resonates to those people bemoaning increases on the gas cost for running their massive pickup trucks or the air fares on their frequent holiday flights.
Or those too stupid to understand the real culprit is, as it almost always is, pure Corporate greed.
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