A conservative MLA is calling on the province to follow P.E. I’s lead and temporarily suspend the provincial fuel tax.
Last week, P.E. I.’s Premier Rob Lantz announced his province was suspending its provincial fuel tax for four months as an affordability measure, following increasing fuel prices due to the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Sussex-Three Rivers MLA Tammy Scott Wallace said that as farmers are struggling with higher diesel prices, the province should provide more relief.
“Farmers are being faced with raising their costs or reconsider the business they are in, and that’s not good news for New Brunswickers who rely so heavily on them,” she said.
Diesel prices in New Brunswick have surged 21 to 30 cents per litre over the past month, moving from about $2.54 per litre at the start of September to peak near $2.75 to $2.86 per litre by late September.
Scott-Wallace said that while farmers are not the only ones being affected by the “skyrocketing” prices, as the agricultural critic, she has heard increasing concerns from farmers across the province.
On Tuesday, she shared a Facebook post where she detailed how diesel prices were affecting dairy farmers in the region.
She told the story of Armadale Farms in Roachville, run by Hubert Duivenvoorden and his family.
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She said several pieces of equipment used at the farm depended on diesel, and higher prices were hitting every part of their operations.
Scott-Wallace said if fuel prices continue to rise, the farm estimates by Christmas “they’ll have no choice but to raise their prices.”
She said production costs are farmers’ biggest concern, noting that as those costs rise, so do food prices.
“That’s something that impacts all of us as New Brunswickers, because of course, we all have to eat,” she said.
Scott-Wallace said affordability is the “number one issue” people across the province are facing, and while she understands the fiscal pressures the liberal government is facing — with the almost $1.7 billion budget deficit — she said by not providing relief at the pumps, they are doing a “great disservice to the people of the province who really have been stretched thin as they can possibly be.”
Acadia Broadcasting reached out to the Department of Finance and Treasury Board to ask if the province would consider following P.E.I.’s lead.
In an email statement, Finance Minister Rene Legacy said the province recognizes that New Brunswickers are feeling the pressure of the rising costs of living, especially at the pumps.
“We are committed to making life more affordable for New Brunswickers,” he said. “That is why we amended the Petroleum Products Pricing Act — which continues to save consumers approximately 10 cents per litre, and why we also continue to provide a monthly 10 per cent electricity rebate to residential electricity customers.”
However, Legacy did not respond to questions about whether the province is considering suspending the fuel tax.
Scott-Wallace commended the P.E.I. government for their decision and said it inspired her to renew the calls to the New Brunswick government.
She said as the legislative session resumes this Fall, the opposition intends to bring this issue up again and pursue change for New Brunswickers.
“This is a conversation I think governments are having everywhere in our provinces, but also at the federal level, so this is definitely an important conversation to have,” she said. “We will continue to pursue it.”
