REGINA — Once again this week, the Opposition New Democrats have been calling on the government to deliver affordability relief and suspend the 15-cent-a-litre fuel tax.
And once again, the government has provided a familiar response: no, because the money is needed for roads.
Opposition finance critic Trent Wotherspoon took up the issue again on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, on the heels of recent renewed calls by organizations such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to cut both provincial and federal fuel taxes. The federal excise tax itself is set to be reinstated on Sept. 8 following months of suspension.
It also comes as gas prices have continued to hover just above or below the $1.70-a-litre mark in the province, as the U.S.-Iran war shows no signs of abating.
In a news release Wednesday, Wotherspoon pointed to the additional financial pressures people are facing from back-to-school spending.
"Back to school is right around the corner, and right now, families are trying to get their kids ready," he stated. "But after twenty years of Scott Moe and the Sask. Party providing no relief for climbing gas prices and piling on more taxes and costs, people are falling further behind. Since Scott Moe became premier, gas prices in Regina and Saskatoon have shot upwards of 60 per cent, the second- and third-highest increases in the entire country…
"With back-to-school supply shopping top of mind for so many families right now, the price at the pumps is a real hardship. While power bills, grocery costs and housing continue to climb, extra savings on gas bills would make a difference."
Speaking to SaskToday Thursday, Wotherspoon again pointed to the government's "significant boost to its revenues because of the spike in oil prices due to international conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran."
"This is a government that sees significant extra revenues but is sitting on those dollars, and we're saying it should be using some of those dollars to provide some real relief for families."
Wotherspoon also pointed to other provinces that "have stepped up to provide relief and to cut their gas taxes and provide a break and to lower that price for their residents. And certainly Saskatchewan people deserve nothing less."
He said families, farms and businesses have been "paying through the nose with sky-high prices at the pumps."
"If you think of families right now, they're working so hard just to make ends meet. Right now they're working real hard as well to put together supplies and get their kids ready for back to school. And the cost of living really causes a real hardship on all those fronts. And that's why we're calling on this premier and the Sask. Party government to stop delaying some meaningful relief and to suspend the fuel tax."
His latest call comes as Finance Minister Jim Reiter is due to release his quarterly financial update, likely next week. Wotherspoon expects the additional revenues from oil and gas to be reflected in that update.
"So you're going to see a big boost in revenues, particularly oil revenues, in that first-quarter update. But again, it's Saskatchewan families at the same time that are just being punished by correspondingly high prices at the pumps." He called removing the fuel tax the "only right thing to do."
As for the government's claims that oil and gas revenue to the province is needed for highway construction, Wotherspoon does not buy that.
"The highways budget flows from the GRF (general revenue fund). And that's a commitment that needs to be there in the budget. And the dollars are certainly there. The province is seeing a big boost in revenues right now because of this international conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. And so what we're saying is to use some of those additional dollars to provide a break for families, farms and businesses, and just suspend the fuel tax. And certainly the highways budget would be fully kept intact. And that's an important commitment. And frankly, this is a government that needs to do a better job on its highway projects as well and get value for the hard-earned tax dollars of Saskatchewan people on so many other fronts."
In response to the latest round of media appearances by Wotherspoon on the fuel-tax issue, the government sent out a statement midweek trashing the NDP.
"Today, the NDP blamed the premier for the price of gas and called on the government to cut the highways budget by over $500 million. This is why no one takes the NDP seriously.
"100 per cent of provincial fuel-tax revenue funds Saskatchewan highways and related infrastructure. The Government of Saskatchewan does not plan to cut the revenues that keep people safe on our roads and allow for the transportation of the exports our economy relies on."
