The Conservative MPP for Bruce Grey Owen Sound says it's nuts for the Liberal Government to introduce a carbon tax in Ontario.
Bill Walker says the tax is punitive on residents, as higher taxes equal lower wages and incomes, and potentially lay offs and job losses.
He says a carbon tax would raise the price of almost all goods and services from home heating, to farming and food production .
Walker says Ontarians already pay high taxes, and are struggling with sky high energy rates.
Walker also questions if any money collected as a carbon tax would ever go toward global warming.
He says money from the Drive Clean program, eco taxes, and recycling all goes into the general coffers.
He says the government is running a 12.5 billion dollar deficit , and they need the carbon tax as a funding source.
Walker adds he would not trust the government to manage a carbon tax any better than eHealth, Ornge, green energy, smart metres and gas plants.
“My colleagues and I reject the Liberals’ premise that the government’s job is to be all things to all people,” he says. “To us, this new tax is a gamble, on people’s wallets and jobs, and it’s a high cost on our slow economy. We will not be supporting it.”
As a result, Walker and his colleagues have launched a province-wide petition to collect signatures from overtaxed and frustrated residents, with the aim of stopping the latest Liberal tax grab, says Walker. The petition can be found on the MPP’s website at http://billwalkermpp.com/docs/petitions/Petition_-_Stop_the_Carbon_Tax.pdf