Canadians are opening their home heating bills with a sense of dread this month, thanks to the carbon tax.
Every politician haunting the warm halls of power should read the painful experiences of Canadians who are fighting to afford the basics.
Those politicians should ask themselves why any Canadian should be forced to pay the carbon tax for one more minute on an essential like home heating.
When the Canadians Taxpayers Federation asked people to post pictures of their heating bills to show their real cost of the carbon tax, we got more than a thousand replies.
Some of the messages are tough to read.
“I haven’t been able to afford to fill my propane tank this year, just hoping that no heat doesn’t make my house go mouldy,” Jay, works as a chef just outside of Victoria, B.C., told the CTF.
Others are astonishing.
“Our bookkeeper nearly choked, thanks for bringing light to the madness,” Chris wrote while sharing the carbon tax bill for the pub he runs in Peterborough, Ont.
His natural gas bill from last month has a carbon tax charge of $1,044.
Do the Liberal Party leadership candidates grasp what an extra $1,000 bill tacked on to a business does to prices at a pub, let alone to the small business owner trying to keep people employed?
Most of the residential bills sent in from cities and suburbs across Canada show a carbon tax punishment costing more than $50 extra per month, with the tax typically exceeding the cost of the home heating fuel being used.
Ron, a tech specialist in Brampton, Ont., said he’s “sick of the virtue signalling” over the carbon tax from the Trudeau government while his natural gas bill shows a monthly punishment of more than $80.
“I don’t think there is one Canadian I know that can afford any more taxes,” writes Michel, who lives near Barrie, Ontario. “This is $32 alone on gas for the home. Now put that on every single item you buy. It’s disgusting. (Politicians) think we are stupid.”
Michel tries to make ends meet living in a small mobile home with a new furnace, but December’s heat bill still carried a carbon tax punishment of $32 for the month. The gas itself only cost $20.
In Northern Ontario, where temperatures often drop to -20C overnight during the winter, young mom Kelly posted her household’s December natural gas bill showing a $134 carbon tax charge.
The list goes on.
In Manitoba, where winter resembles the ice planet Hoth from Star Wars, the carbon tax on home heating is severe.
Lilly, who lives outside of Winnipeg, shared a December bill showing a carbon tax of $140 for the month. And Cory, from the southern part of the province, had a monthly carbon tax bill of $70 for his home heating.
Cynthia struggles to stay warm in Eastern Ontario while facing high bills for her propane furnace.
“I keep my thermostat at (16C) to conserve fuel. Is it cold … yes! I bundle up, wear layers and use blankets to keep warm. Basically, I don’t want my pipes to freeze,” she told CTF while sharing her monthly propane bill showing a carbon tax of $70.
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Many folks who use propane for home heating do so because they live in remote locations like rural farms or mountainsides, or they are trying to save money by living in mobile homes or campers.
We can happily skip Saskatchewan this winter, where Premier Scott Moe is refusing to collect Ottawa’s carbon tax on home heating. Some people still showed their cancelled carbon tax bill and praised Moe for the savings, ranging from $50 to $80 per month.
In Alberta, the carbon tax causes quite the ruckus. Alberta’s electric power plants are fueled by natural gas, which is nailed with the carbon tax and home heating is almost exclusively natural gas too, often resulting in high carbon tax bills.
Shawn, a working dad of twins living in Edmonton Centre, sent in his natural gas bill showing a carbon tax of $136.
“You should see what I spend a week on carbon tax for gas,” Shawn said. “It’s 200 litres every week, 17 cents a litre carbon tax, 34 bucks a week, $1,768 per year. Just in carbon tax on gas for my truck. It’s ridiculous.”
We are back to where we started in B.C., where Jay can’t afford propane.
That province’s carbon tax is doing serious damage to folks who are trying to afford to live in one of the most expensive places on the planet.
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Ken, the owner of two Springer Spaniel dogs in the central Okanagan, paid more than $65 in the carbon tax last month. Bret had to pay more than $50 in carbon tax to heat his small rancher near Vancouver for December. And up in Dawson Creek, where the temperature is often below -20C overnight, Josh’s family home just got a carbon tax bill of more than $200 for two months.
Josh told the CTF he “sees right through” the Liberal government’s assurance that Canadians “get more back than they pay out” in the carbon tax.
So does the Parliamentary Budget Officer. In three separate reports, the PBO shows the carbon tax costs average families hundreds of dollars more every year than the rebates they get back.
Jay, Cynthia, Ron, Josh and millions of other Canadians should not have to pay the carbon tax punishment on their home heating bill for one more day.
The carbon tax is an expensive failure.
Scrap it now before people open one more bill.
– Franco Terrazzano is the federal director and Kris Sims is the Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation