Discussion · Government Orders
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Québécois
“The government says it is cutting the fuel tax because gas prices are high. I want to know if the government will bring the tax back on the date in the bill even if gas prices stay high.”
“Mr. Speaker, the government justifies this measure on the grounds that gasoline prices have risen as a result of the oil shock. It even tells us that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has called on certain member countries to take this approach. However, if gasoline prices have not come down, the government’s entire rationale falls apart, and what it is proposing makes absolutely no sense. That is my main question. I am being told that the bill specifies a date, but what the bill proposes is tied to the price of gasoline. Let me be clear. The question is straightforward. I do not want to hear about a date. If, when the bill calls for the excise tax to be reinstated, gasoline prices have not fallen and remain at the same high level, will the government nevertheless restore the excise tax regardless of the price of gasoline? That is my question.”
Mr. Speaker, the government justifies this measure on the grounds that gasoline prices have risen as a result of the oil shock. It even tells us that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has called on certain member countries to take this approach. However, if gasoline prices have not come down, the government’s entire rationale falls apart, and what it is proposing makes absolutely no sense. That is my main question. I am being told that the bill specifies a date, but what the bill proposes is tied to the price of gasoline. Let me be clear. The question is straightforward. I do not want to hear about a date. If, when the bill calls for the excise tax to be reinstated, gasoline prices have not fallen and remain at the same high level, will the government nevertheless restore the excise tax regardless of the price of gasoline? That is my question.