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Whatever you do, don’t call it a tax!

That seems to be the dominant and consistent policy from Justin Trudeau and his team when it comes to discussing the carbon tax.

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Or should I say, “output-based pricing system.”

That’s the latest way Trudeau’s team has sought to avoid calling their tax, a tax.

It was in response to an order paper question from the Conservatives seeking information on the impact of the carbon tax on the airline industry.

The response, tabled and signed off on by Joel Lightbound, the Parliamentary Secretary to the minister of finance, took obfuscation to a whole new level.

“The fuel charge has not been imposed as a tax,” the response reads. “The fuel charge is an integral part of a comprehensive regulatory approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that includes the output-based pricing system.”

So see, it’s not a tax.

It’s an “output-based pricing system.”

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Trudeau rarely utters the phrase carbon tax, he tries to get around using those words for a variety of reasons, from not wanting scare taxpayers to trying to win a court challenge.