Hosed At The Pumps

Weekly Commentary By Stockwell Day, MP Okanagan-Coquihalla

September 23, 2005 – At a buck per litre I consoled myself, musing it was easier now to figure out the cost to fill my 65 litre tank-0-65 loonies. When it hit a stunning two dollars in some parts of the country, I could only feel pain and frustration.

I reject the thinking that we should embrace the stagnant European model of deliberately slamming consumers with sky high gas taxes to discourage driving.

One cannot compare the short distances between Europe's mega-cities and the vast expanses between Canadian shorelines.

I hear the tired and misguided phrase,” Canada’s love affair with the automobile.".

Excuse me it's not love that requires truckers to plow through mountain blizzards to get Okanagan and Nicola Valley produce to the BC coastline hundreds of kilometres away.

The 'high-tax crowd' obviously have no feeling for the burden they are heaping on truckers trying to keep their rigs rolling.

Romance doesn't fuel Canadian school buses on country roads for hours each day getting kids to schools far away. Cab drivers and delivery people who don't get a rate increase while their gas costs rocket through the roof, aren't in love with their cars they just want to feed their families.

High-cost pushers' think farm equipment runs on love. They'd be the first to shriek if bread hits ten dollars a loaf to cover the costs of harvesting the wheat.

What about the nurse driving daily from Penticton to Kelowna to care for the sick. Should we punish her too?

The list goes on. The reality is Canadian fuel efficiency technology is used around the world due to the very fact that we had to develop it to ease the challenges of traversing vast tracts of territory in all climates.

Our breakthroughs in emissions reductions technology have helped reduce by 85% the gas particulate in the atmosphere over the last 25 years.

There is still more to do to purify the air, but it won't happen by forcing people to park their vehicles and quit their work.

This week the feds, instead of dropping the vicious GST tax grab on high gas prices, called an emergency meeting on Parliament Hill.

Then guess what? Not one cabinet minister even showed up to listen to concerned Canadians or to hear our proposals.

So we had to pass a resolution requiring 5 key ministers to report to the committee meeting which they had tried to hide behind.

Here are some of the proposals which they didn't even bother to listen to, but which they will now be forced to respond to.

First, remove the GST on high fuel costs.

Second, allocate more of the surplus to ongoing research for alternative fuels.

Third, encourage reasonable alternatives now in use such as wind, solar and cell technology.

Fourth, use a personal tax credit incentive (not a punishing tax increase) to encourage bus, subway and train use, especially in major urban centres.

Fifth, require oil companies to appear before a Special Committee to show whether their price spikes are a factor of the world price, rather than artificial profit taking.

These are not the only answers, but they are constructive suggestions which I will be advocating and supporting in Parliament.

I just hope there will be a minister there to listen.

Stockwell Day, MP
Okanagan-Coquihalla

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.