The cost to fill your tank is adding stress for Maritime drivers. “$204, diesel, just to fill this [truck],” says Sherri Chandler. “That will last us not even a week.” For people like her, it doesn’t stop there. “We have two diesel vehicles because we thought we were going to be smart a few years back,” she says. “[It’s] not so great now.” On Wednesday, some pump prices in the Halifax area were between $1.96 per litre for gas and $2.71 per litre for diesel. The Maritimes have some of the highest fuel prices in Canada. On Tuesday, Alberta announced plans to temporarily halt its provincial fuel tax, starting in October, estimated to save drivers $0.13 cents per litre. “It’s a great move,” Chandler says. Jennifer Miller, another driver, has a different outlook. “Taxes go toward things that we need,” she says. “Everyone would like to pay less taxes, that’s true. “But I still need the roads, I still need the bridges, I understand that we need to contribute to our communities, so, that money goes to things that we need and use every day.” The federal government has already extended its so-called “gas tax holiday” – chopping off $0.10 cents per litre – until the end of January. In the three Maritime provinces, fuel taxes range between $0.08 and $0.15 cents per litre. But it doesn’t sound like the provincial governments will follow Alberta’s plan. “In terms of the motive fuel tax right now, no changes are planned,” said John Lohr, Nova Scotia’s finance minister, last Friday. New Brunswick’s finance minister wasn’t made available for an interview on Wednesday, and his office did not answer whether the province would cut its fuel tax, but did tell CTV News in a statement that New Brunswickers are saving from a different, previously announced cut. On P.E.I., a provincial government spokesperson wrote that “Government continues to examine options that will help support local people and businesses with their day-to-day affordability.” “When politicians refuse tax relief, they’re making the wrong decision,” says Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano. “They need to look in their own budgets and cut spending so that they can provide the tax relief without ballooning the debt.” Petroleum analyst Patrick de Haan says the pro of cutting fuel tax is quick relief. But there’s a potentially significant con. “It could, in a subtle way, stimulate demand at a time that the global economy is telling you that there are things that are very broken,” de Haan tells CTV News. “Until there is broader problem-solving to de-escalate the situation between the U.S. and Iran, and Russia and Ukraine, we still could continue to see further [price] increases.”
