Carbon tax increase much higher than we’re being told
By Letter to the Editor on March 31, 2020.
I have just looked at my utility bill for last month, and I see the federal carbon tax has been added. The Government of Canada website states “the average household will see a 13 per cent increase” in their utility bill. They also talk about the amount of the tax “per cubic metre” of gas. Who uses “cubic” anything any more? My bill has been in gigajoules, whatever that is, for years.
The cost per GJ on my recent bill averaged $1.97, and I consumed 15.5 GJ. Enmax, my supplier, tells me the rate of tax now is $1.05 per GJ, and will increase to $1.57 on April 1. I did a little math, and this comes out to a 55 per cent increase now, which will go to over 80 per cent on April 1.
How does Ottawa rationalize their supposed 13 per cent increase? Well, it seems they add the 13 per cent figure onto the total bill which includes a list of extra charges on top of the energy charges, such as administration, fixed and variable delivery charges, rate riders, transaction fees and municipal fees. We should al bee demanding to know how these extra charges contribute to adding CO2 to the atmosphere, and therefore should be taxed along with the gas we consume. Talk about muddle-headed thinking.
Does Trudeau (my finger slipped on the keys and spelled it “Turdeau”: Freudian slip?) think that we are so stupid we can’t figure this out? Apparently he does, because we should know that these extra cash-cow taxes are going to save the planet! How much longer are we going to stand for this robbery?
Dick Burgman
Blairmore
8-7
Good points, Fed. With an average home using say 150 GJ of gas, the tax would be $1.57 × 150 = $235. With a $666 rebate, it looks like Dick will be $431 ahead. Now, if he reduces his gasoline he could be well ahead financially. Why is he complaining?