Regional Chief Beardy – Fuel Tax Hike Will Hurt Northern Communities – Net Newsledger
TORONTO – Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy says the fuel tax hike recently announced in the provincial budget by the newly-elected Liberal government will boost airline fares and make it even more difficult for remote communities to access goods and services.
“Remote communities in the north are already feeling pinched by the economy and the high costs of goods and services. This fuel hike will only hurt these communities further,” stated Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy. “This issue will be very critical to northern communities. They are some of the poorest communities in the province yet they will be hit the hardest.”
In a budget tabled last week, Premier Kathleen Wynne proposed to phase in a four-cent-per-litre increase in the aviation fuel tax to 6.7 cents by 2017. The current tax of 2.7 cents per litre has been in place for more than two decades, but would rise by one cent per litre each year.
