Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a talk radio host that Canadians are starting to like the carbon tax, despite the fact that polls show the majority want it paused or scrapped altogether.
During an interview with Newstalk 1010, Trudeau said “People are starting to understand the Canada carbon rebate puts more money back into their pockets.”
Trudeau has been under fire over the true cost of the carbon tax since the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the overall cost of the levy is greater than whatever most Canadians receive back in carbon tax rebates.
But the Liberals continue to insist the opposite.
“There’s a lot of grumpy people out there, and I’m an easy person to blame,” the Prime Minister said.
The Liberals have been attempting to prove the carbon tax is a good thing for Canadians, beyond insisting that it makes them richer, by paying lobbyists to write puff pieces for them.
Last month, Environmental Minister Steven Guilbeault praised an opinion piece written by a lobbyist group that he paid $287,000 to just six months prior.
However, public-opinion polls reveal that most Canadians want to tax scrapped. Last month, a Leger poll showed that 60% of Canadians want the GST removed from the carbon tax.
GST pause will save mere dollars
Trudeau laid out a plan last week to “give Canadians a real break on everything they do,” by saying he’ll introduce a bill that will pause GST/HST on essential items like groceries and diapers for 60 days starting December 14.
One economist, Dalhousie professor Sylvain Charlebois (aka “The Food Professor”) has predicted this will result in about $25 savings for the average Canadian.
