BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. - Filling the tank cost a little less for Islanders Saturday, with a pause on the provincial fuel tax taking effect for the next four months. The break comes days after Alberta announced its own fuel-tax suspension, as high-energy costs add to affordability pressures. P.E.I.’s suspension takes 8.47 cents per litre off gasoline and 14.15 cents per litre off diesel. Premier Rob Lantz announced the changes Friday. “It’s a little bit lower than it was yesterday,” said Peter Mullins at a gas station in Borden-Carleton. “It’s about five dollars a tank difference, so I can buy a coffee or two with the extra.” But there was still pain at the pump. “This is the worst price of gas we’ve witnessed in a very long time,” said another customer. “You cannot save any money.” Ottawa has introduced legislation to continue its fuel excise tax holiday through Jan. 31, which could keep 10 cents per litre off gasoline and four cents off diesel. P.E.I.’s reprieve will last until the same date, before it returns at 50 per cent of its regular rate on Feb. 1, and then is fully restored April 1. “Fuel costs touch almost everything on our Island, from the commute to work to the price of goods delivered to store shelves,” Finance and Affordability Minister Jill Burridge said in a release. “Global markets are driving prices up, and Islanders shouldn’t have to face that alone.” Straining industries reliant on gas The gasoline reduction will be felt by many, said Ian Lee, associate professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business. “You see the prices going up, and you’re reminded every time you fill up your car,” he said. “That’s what I think makes it so toxic to us the citizens and to the ministers who realize they are becoming the target of the anger.” The strain is particularly acute for industries that depend on diesel. Hundreds of dump-truck drivers convoyed into Vancouver on Friday to protest record-high diesel prices. The Vancouver area has the highest fuel-tax rates in the country. According to Natural Resources Canada the provincial comparison is 27 cents per litre on gasoline and 27.5 cents per litre on diesel. While tax cuts could mean lower expenses for truckers and their companies, in P.E.I., the impact will be “trivial” on the cost of goods Lee said. “This is more symbolic and political so that the government can say look, people, we hear your pain, we care about you. We’re sensitive to your suffering and this is what we’re doing,” he said. “But it’s not going to move the needle on retail prices.” That’s because the Island’s tax on diesel accounted for about five per cent of its retail price before the pause, he said. Freight, in turn, makes up only a small share of what consumers ultimately pay for a product. Outside B.C., Quebec has the highest provincial fuel-tax rates, at 19.2 cents per litre on gasoline and 20.2 cents on diesel. Nova Scotia charges 15.5 cents and 15.4 cents respectively, while Saskatchewan charges 15 cents on both. Alberta, meanwhile, will drop its 13-cent-per-litre fuel tax to zero starting Oct. 1.
