MP Bob Zimmer calls for repeal of carbon tax

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies is calling for an end to the carbon tax.

Bob Zimmer said on the June 28th episode of This Week in the Peace that the tax has caused a spike in grocery prices in rural and remote communities, especially in the north.

“Guess how groceries get to Inuvik?” Zimmer asked, using the Northwest Territories’ third-largest community as an example. “It’s on a big truck, and it’s powered by diesel.”

“When you put a carbon tax on diesel, what’s already an expensive food price — it might have been $14 before, for that jug of milk — it just adds another $2-4 of cost when you add the carbon tax on top of that.”

Zimmer says the tax extends beyond increased prices for food, leading to higher costs of living.

“That same truck driver is going to have a house to live in, up there,” Zimmer says. “Well, now, his heating oil, he or she has to pay more to stay up there, just to live.”

He says even residents with relatively high-paying jobs are struggling under the weight of the tax. 

“That really forces people into buying really poor food, making poor food choices, because pop and chips and chocolate are cheaper, higher calorie, so they buy the high-calorie, cheap, really bad stuff for you instead of the good food,” Zimmer said.

“It’s bad enough that they can’t afford food, but now they’re unhealthy as well, so it causes a lot of other problems.”

“Axe the Tax” protests have been common across the region for a long time, and farmers and agriculture workers have also called for an end to the carbon tax.

When asked what Canada should do to lower its emissions instead of a carbon tax, Zimmer said the country doesn’t make up a significant portion of the world’s emissions.

“If you really want to do something to reduce emissions, let’s get our natural gas to higher emitting nations around the world,” Zimmer said, “That’s an easy one.”

He also advocated for funding research into other emission-reduction solutions. 

To view the full episode of This Week in the Peace featuring Zimmer, look below.