MP Vic Toews: Gas & Home Heating Prices

Rebate Program Fails to Target Need -- "temporary measures just in time for a spring election"

This year Canadians are struggling with rising gasoline prices and with a substantial increase in the cost of home heating oil. Other sources of energy, including electricity and natural gas, have also increased in price. While these costs have increased, most wage earners have not seen their incomes keep pace.

In response to these concerns, the Liberal government recently announced a rebate program to address the costs of oil and gas this winter. Unfortunately, it is already evident that this plan is ill-conceived, aiding less then 10% of Canadians and leaving out many who need the help. For example, despite their urgent need, the program will provide no assistance to farmers, truckers, taxi drivers or those in the delivery services industries. Furthermore, steps to address gasoline prices are not even mentioned in the package even though until the Conservatives raised objections in Parliament, the Liberals were prepared to substantially increase mileage expense accounts for members of parliament and civil servants.

The ability of this new program to assist seniors with the cost of home heating is also being called into question. The current plan is to extend the rebate to seniors who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). However, the Liberals' own research bureau indicates that as many as 135,000 seniors who were eligible for the GIS in 2002 did not receive it and would therefore also not receive the rebate.

Furthermore, the inability of the government to appropriately distribute a rebate to such narrowly defined groups gives rise to a huge potential for mismanagement and abuse. It brings back memories of the Liberals' pre-2000 election handout program. That program, which was strongly criticized by the Auditor-General, distributed $1.5 billion dollars in home heating rebates of which only $350 million was delivered to Canadians in genuine need.

Instead of implementing a clear, well thought out strategy to target those directly impacted by these increased costs, the Liberal government is taking a knee jerk approach to these issues, to the detriment of tax payers, consumers and industries.

The Liberal strategy is to introduce temporary measures just in time for a spring election. The last time the Liberals tried to buy votes through a rebate, they sent cheques to prisoners, Canadians living abroad and even people who were deceased. In contrast, a Conservative government will "axe the tax" on gasoline at the pumps, providing an immediate benefit for all; Conservatives will lower personal tax rates; and Conservatives will implement a long term energy framework which will examine how best to utilize our resources to provide a stable supply of less expensive energy. Conservatives believe that providing financial relief to Canadian taxpayers should involve implementing a strategy that has a long-term benefit.

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