Expect to feel the pain at the pump for a long time.
That’s the message from Premier John Horgan, when asked last Thursday during his weekly media briefing if he expected any breaks at the pump.
Horgan said that taxes on gasoline won’t be changing in the near future as prices continue to surge brought on by market volatility in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Sunday, most gas stations in Delta were well over $2 a litre and that climbed to $2.10 on Monday with seemingly no end in sight to higher prices.
Gas prices continue to be a hot topic on the community social media pages, with multiple posts a day from residents inquiring about the price of gas in Point Roberts as everyone looks for a cheaper alternative.
Kris Sims from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has pointed out in numerous media interviews the past few days that B.C. has some of the highest gasoline prices in North America with the highest gasoline taxes – almost 73 cents per litre.
Provincial carbon taxes cost taxpayers around 27 centrs per litre, so scrap those and it would result in pretty significant savings – at least some relief for us at the pump says Sims.
But according to Horgan, those ideas are not even on the table. In fact, B.C. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston said last week that the province has no plans to delay the provinces one-cent carbon tax hike that is due to go into effect on April 1.
Horgan’s solution: more people should use transit and take a bus to help in the short-term.
That’s not practical for many around here who are dealing with a transit system that is pretty inadequate at the best of times.
For a government that supposedly is “there for all of us” and working “for the people” they have a funny way of showing it.
