Trudeau Liberals not willing to cut gas tax for now, says resources minister

Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said on Tuesday that the Trudeau government has no plans of cutting gas taxes at the pump to relieve Canadians.

Instead, he said, that Canada was looking to help stabilize global oil prices by increasing supply, which he says has already started. Instead of cutting gas taxes, he said that relief for Canadian families will come from areas focused on by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland during her speech last week, including increases to federal benefit cheques such as GST rebates and the Canada Child Benefit, as well as cuts to child care costs.

Freeland says the measures together add up to almost $9 billion.

Calls for cuts to gas taxes have come from the Conservative side of the House for months, including measures that would lift the GTS from gas, suspension of carbon pricing, and lifting the 10-cent-per-litre tax.

Conservative leadership frontrunner Pierre Poilievre requested that Deputy Freeland give Canadians a "tax break on gasoline this summer."

"Gas prices are up to $2.09/lt in the GTA, $2.15/lt in Montreal and $2.34/lt in Vancouver. Parents are opting not to drive their kids to see their grandparents on the weekend, just so they can afford to drive to work on Monday," said Poilievre in a statement released in May.

"The Trudeau government, with the support of Patrick Brown and Jean Charest, designed a carbon tax to drive up the price of gas. Well, it’s out of control, and people are hurting. I’m asking them to give people a break and eliminate the gas tax, carbon tax, and GST on gas this summer. It’s the least they can do," he said.

Regarding a gas break in the future, "We haven’t ruled anything off the table in the future, I think it would be irresponsible to do that at this point," said Wilkinson. "But the plan right now is what Minister Freeland said it was."

Gas prices have risen globally, with prices at Canadian pumps rising about 70 percent from where they were last year.

Gas taxes have been cut from countries like Italy and the UK, as well as Germany. France has offered a consumer rebate on gasoline, and Japan has implemented a subsidy to fuel wholesalers, according to The Canadian Press.