“Businesses across Ontario have expressed their belief that the stickers are partisan, noting, for instance, that it only mentions costs and not the substantial rebates to households that the carbon tax offers.” – the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce
Ontario’s Ford Government, often boasting that it wants to cut red tape and get out of businesses way as much as possible, has ordered gas stations across the province to display “carbon tax” stickers on their pumps – stickers that many argue appear to be politically partisan in nature
A News Release from the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce
Posted August 29th, 2019 on Niagara At Large
On the Ford government’s insistence, here is the sticker that gas stations across Ontario are now instructed by the government to display on their pumps.
Niagara, Ontario – Today (Thursday, August 29th) marks the Government of Ontario’s self-imposed deadline for the imposition of carbon tax pricing stickers as part of the Federal Carbon Tax Transparency Act, 2019.
After today, gas stations across the country will have to display a sticker on each pump advising motorists of the costs of the federal carbon tax.
The GNCC is opposed to this requirement.
Firstly, it is an additional regulatory burden upon businesses, and the penalties for non-compliance are disproportionately harsh. This is doubly jarring from a government that has pledged to reduce red tape for Ontario.
Secondly, businesses across Ontario have expressed their belief that the stickers are partisan, noting, for instance, that it only mentions costs and not the substantial rebates to households that the carbon tax offers. They feel that the requirement to post these stickers on their privately-owned premises contradicts their rights and freedoms regarding political expression and free speech.
The GNCC<http://gncc.ca/members/Minister-Rickford-Letter.pdf> and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce<http://gncc.ca/members/Federal-Carbon-Tax-Transparency-Act-2019-OCC.pdf> (OCC) have both communicated their opposition to this legislation.
We hope that the Government of Ontario will continue to make good on its promise to reduce red tape by 25% by 2022, reducing the burden on businesses. A good start would be to repeal this new red tape.
In concert with our partners at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce<http://www.chamber.ca/media/news-releases/20181217_statement_on_carbon_pricing/> (CCC), the GNCC believes that a carbon tax is a cost-effective way to reduce Canadian emissions and, if wisely applied, can reduce the regulatory burden on Canadian households and businesses.
We are committed to working with all levels of government to accomplish their goals of economic prosperity while safeguarding our environment.
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in Niagara and the second-largest Chamber of Commerce in Ontario, with 1,600 members representing 50,000 employees.
More information on the GNCC is available at gncc.ca<https://gncc.ca/>.
To read news commentary Niagara At Large posted earlier this August 29th on this issue, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2019/08/29/while-the-world-is-on-fire-doug-ford-his-tory-pals-go-to-bat-for-carbon-pollution/ .
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Why did the GNCC and others wait to the deadline to publicize their opposition to the Ford order? Their action, at this time, is similar to a driving instructor waiting to give instruction or take action until the accident happens.
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Time and time again I fail to understand why, just because orders are given, people don’t collectively agree to ignore them.
What is Ford going to do when all of those businesses supported by the Chamber of Commerce of Ontario refuse to place the stickers on their pumps?
Now more than ever, we, the citizens of Canada, need to take back our power and stop letting our dictators, be they municipal, regional, provincial or federal control us.
The power has been ours all along. We just have to harness it.
We can collectively boycott any specific business or service provider (eg. CIBC, Cogeco, Petro Canada, General Motors, etc.) and in doing so affect change. All they care about is money so let’s starve them of it. We can collectively refuse to submit our tax returns until there is greater accountability and a meaningful spending of our tax dollars on services we all desperately require.
Doug Ford tells us we MUST accept X number of thousands of people into our respective cities and communities forever destroying whatever ambiance or ecosystems we have left. Imagine if every mayor (who was not in the pockets of developers or was smart enough to not buy into the pseudo-economics of perpetual population explosion equaling prosperity) just said NO!
And this is just the short list of the things we can do.
WE HAVE THE POWER! LET’S START USING IT!!
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Why can’t the gas stations just put up the required notice up-side-down??
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Well said Carla, now is the time not to comply with such ridiculous orders.
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