Canadian Taxpayers Federation urges push back against O’Toole ‘carbon tax’

O'Toole, who had previously signed a pledge to fight the carbon tax that read "I, Erin O’Toole, promise that if elected Prime Minister of Canada, I will immediately repeal the Trudeau carbon tax and reject any future national carbon tax or cap-and-trade scheme," changed his stance last month instead proposing his own carbon pricing plan for his election campaign.

His carbon tax plan would charge Canadians a carbon tax that would start at $20 per tonne, rising to no more than $50 per tonne, with none of the money going to the government. Instead "every time Canadians buy hydro-carbon-based fuel, they will pay into their low carbon savings account, which they will manage and use towards purchases that will help them lower their carbon footprint, improve the efficiency of their home, and live a greener life."

These items, according to the Western Standard, would only be government-approved environmentally friendly products, like "buying a transit pass or a bicycle, or saving up and putting the money towards a new efficient furnace, energy-efficient windows or even an electric vehicle," said O'Toole, instead of a rebate to taxpayers as proposed under the Trudeau plan.

The CTF is now urging people to email members of the Conservative Party's National Council to voice their outrage.

"O’Toole is turning his back on the grassroots," said CTF Director Franco Terrazzano. "He promised thousands of CPC members and millions of Canadians to fight carbon taxes. And if O’Toole thought his carbon tax was such a good idea, why didn’t he propose it at the recent CPC policy convention? CTF supporters have contacted O’Toole and his MPs, but it seems they’ve decided to dig in. If O’Toole doesn’t want to listen to the grassroots, then we need to make sure his party gets the message. We need your help to make sure the Conservative Party knows O’Toole’s carbon tax flip-flop was a mistake."