Trail Talking

I’d like to highlight a recent funding announcement. Our provincial government is providing the Bibliothèque Ste. Anne Inc. with $27,492.02 for their activities throughout the 2022-23 fiscal year. Congratulations to Bibliothèque Ste. Anne Inc. for receiving this funding. I am proud to be part of a government that recognizes the importance and value of supporting their rural communities, and especially their rural libraries.

Now, I’d like to take a moment to address the record high gasoline prices and the impact this has on cost-of-living and affordability in Manitoba. Our gas prices are shockingly high, and they have continued to remain that way for quite some time. Our provincial government has not increased the fuel tax as it has been set at 14 cents per litre for the last decade. Manitoba fuel tax is also not dependent on the pump price, but rather tied to volume, or litres of fuel purchased. Meaning, fuel prices may have doubled, but fuel tax revenue to our province has not been impacted.

However, federal taxes on fuel are threefold. Firstly, the federal government has it’s own excise tax on fuel at 10 cents per litre. Secondly, they apply the carbon tax, which is currently equal to 11.1 cents per litre, and will continue to increase annually to over 37 cents per litre by 2030. Premier Stefanson, along with her colleagues from Saskatchewan and Alberta, have written Prime Minister Trudeau requesting that he cease increasing carbon taxes at this critical time. The third federal government tax is the GST, which applies on the total price of fuel, resulting in a windfall for the federal government as gasoline prices rise. It is estimated that about $10 million in monthly GST is paid by Manitobans at current prices, which is nearly double what the federal government collected in GST on fuel before gas prices skyrocketed.

With the sharp price escalation, affordability is top of mind for everyone. To help ease the burden of rising costs and high inflation, our government provided significant tax relief in Budget 2022, including the Education Property Tax rebate at 37.5 percent to over 396,000 households where the average rebate cheque this year was $581. A new Residential Renters Tax Credit, which delivers $525 to renters across Manitoba and expanded the credit for up to 45,000 additional renters in social housing and on non-EIA Rent Assist who were not previously eligible. Our government also introduced an $87 million Family Affordability Package to families with children and to low-income seniors.

When it comes to gasoline taxes, it is clear that the federal government has to be at the table and part of any solutions. In the meantime, our provincial government will continue making efforts to help Manitobans with cost-of-living and affordability.