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Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were hit hard in 2016 with more than 300 tax and fee increases. Income tax went up. Gas taxes skyrocketed. An unprecedented levy was created to grab hundreds of dollars from taxpayer’s pockets. And on and on. The Liberal government’s tax policies are holding back families, employers and our communities. Their high taxes are ruining our economy.

Now they are planning the biggest tax hit of all. A carbon tax.

People are concerned. Premier Dwight Ball has confirmed that the carbon tax will be introduced this spring. The Liberal’s haven’t said what they are going to do or how they are going to do it but we know this new tax will have an impact, not just on business and industry, but on all residents. It is a new tax that everyone in Newfoundland and Labrador will have to pay.

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Newfoundland and Labrador’s carbon pricing plan to be unveiled next spring: Ball

The Liberals will try to sell their tax by claiming that it is different, that we need this new tax to change people’s behaviour. What they won’t admit is there are other ways to deal with greenhouse gas emissions.

Muskrat Falls will generate clean, renewable energy. Even the Ball Liberal’s admit that. Our province’s greenhouse gas emissions are about to go down. The whole point is to make our province very close to being 100 per cent reliant on carbon-neutral electricity generation and we should be credited for that. Emissions are also being cut in other ways. People are retrofitting their homes to be more energy efficient. Car emissions are improving. Other innovative solutions include net metering, smarter buildings, even silviculture to replace trees that take carbon out of the atmosphere.

We don’t need another tax. The cost of living and doing business keeps going up. Liberal taxes are costing jobs and reducing Newfoundland and Labrador’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. Families can’t afford another tax grab and our economy can’t afford the job losses if our businesses and industries go under.

Enough is enough. We are already paying our fair share. The Ball Liberals need to stand up to Justin Trudeau and say no to his demand that Newfoundland and Labrador introduce a carbon tax.

Barry Petten, PC MHA for C.B.S.

Opposition environment critic