Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer has doubled down on his statement that the carbon tax economically hurts more Canadians than it helps.

PBO Yves Giroux made his statement after being asked about the impact of the carbon tax by Conservative MP Philip Lawrence of the Northumberland–Peterborough South riding.

“When we include the economic impact of the fuel charge and the output based pricing system, it’s true that the majority of households are worse off,” Giroux said.

Giroux’s response comes after figures produced by the Liberals’ Environment and Climate Change Canada showed that Canada’s projected GDP is expected to shrink from $2.68 trillion in 2030 to $2.66 trillion as a direct result of the carbon tax. The Liberals last raised their carbon tax to $80 per tonne on April 1, and will continue to raise it annually until 2030, all the way up to $170 per tonne.

Despite their recent report, the Liberals have been criticizing Giroux’s report that states the majority of Canadian families are harmed by their carbon tax more than they’re helped by the rebates. The Liberals maintain that the carbon tax rebates given to eligible families make 8 out of 10 families better off, but have cherry-picked one part of Giroux’s report to come up with their finding.

Giroux said on Monday, “Our report also included the output based pricing system. So it’s not just the fuel charge, it’s the fuel charge and the output based pricing system. And considering the economic impacts and the fiscal impacts of both measures, yes, the majority of households are worse off.” 

Smith calls out ‘ivory tower’ academics

The back-and-forth on the true cost of the carbon tax between the Trudeau Liberals and just about everyone else escalated in April when Alberta Premier Smith responded to an open letter from academic economists who supported the tax, by suggesting that they’re “ivory tower” ideologues who need to step into the “real world.”