Trudeau’s government narrative with carbon tax Canadians will get more back in rebates than what they pay in to it has turned out to to be a giant false claim according to Canada’s federal budget watchdog.
As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Parliamentary Budget Office’s (PBO) latest report stated that “most households will see a net loss” as a result of the carbon tax rebate scheme.
Just recently to the Commons environment committee, yesterday, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault intentionally spread false information that Canadians got more money back from the carbon tax program than the government takes from them.
“As you know according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer eight out of ten households are better off with carbon pricing,” said Guilbeault. “It is true the richest among us in Canada do not benefit from rebates but eight out of ten households are better off.”
Guilbeault’s claim contradicts the budget analysts reported when they stated that the carbon tax had a “negative economic impact” for taxpayers.
“When the economic impact is combined with the fiscal impact, that is the carbon levy and related GST paid less the rebate received, the net carbon cost increases for all households reflecting the overall negative economic impact of the federal carbon levy,” wrote the PBO.
“Most households in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario will see a net loss resulting from federal carbon pricing. That is, the costs they face including the federal carbon levy, higher GST and lower incomes will exceed the Climate Action Incentive rebate they receive.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned in 2019 on the promise that the federal carbon tax will put “more money” in Canadians’ pockets.
“Our plan will mean a cleaner environment and more money in their pockets,” Trudeau falsely claimed. “The average citizens of those provinces will be better off with this price on pollution than they would be had there been no price on pollution.”
The carbon tax has noticeably made life more expensive for a majority of Canadians and also largely failed to reduce Canada’s emissions.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) heavily criticised the federal government over the PBO study, highlighting the watchdog’s assessment that the carbon price costs Canadian households up to $845 per year, even after refunds.
“The carbon tax is bad for families, plain and simple,” said CTF Ontario director Jay Goldberg. “The Trudeau government’s plans will hurt Canadians and hinder economic growth, even though evidence shows carbon taxes don’t lower emissions. It’s clearer than ever before that the federal government needs to scrap its carbon tax.”
