Alberta fuel, energy prices soar but government’s affordability plan beyond gas tax unclear

Alberta’s energy minister couldn’t outline the province’s plan to keep fuel and energy affordable as oil prices skyrocket, but says “a number of things” are being looked at.

“We continue to look at ways to make energy affordable for Albertans,” Energy Minister Sonya Savage said at a news conference Friday. “We’ve done a number of things, including the removal of the gas tax. We’ll continue to look at things.”

Alberta's energy minister says gov is looking at 'several things' to keep fuel affordable past cutting provincial tax, when I pushed for an answer, she pointed fingers at Ottawa & the carbon tax. #yyc #yeg #FuelPrice #Alberta #abpoli #cdnpoli — FULL STORY: https://t.co/oZN0vmRShI pic.twitter.com/UQpB33qy5Z

— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) March 11, 2022

The province announced its fuel price relief plan on Monday, but many people say it falls short.

The plan would see the province no longer collecting the 13 cents per litre tax on gas and diesel starting April 1.

The province also announced a $150 rebate for households and small businesses which consumed less than 250MWh of electricity.

Related article: Alberta unveils gas price relief plans

“We’re very proud of our oil and gas industry in Alberta, we’re very proud of our energy supply to Albertans and we’ll make sure it continues to be affordable,” she added.

When asked what specific things are being looked at, and what will be done to keep energy affordable, Savage responded by attacking the federal government’s carbon tax.

“I think the first thing that can be done is to take a long hard look at the federal carbon tax,” she responded.

Savage noted the planned carbon tax increases prices from around 9 cents to 11 cents a litre.

“That’s going to significantly increase the cost of energy to every single Canadian, so that’s something we could look at.”

Political Scientist Lori Williams points out the UCP government regularly deflects on to the federal government whenever it comes under fire.

“It seems that the hope is people will see part of the unaffordability of gasoline is someone else’s fault and the provincial government is doing everything that it can, but that completely ignores the fact that all of the money that people pay into the federal carbon tax comes back to them directly in rebates, at least for most Albertans,” she explained.

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Williams notes the province benefits from high oil prices, and many Albertans want the government to share that money to compensate for increased costs at the fuel.

“Removing their portion of the tax at the pump when prices are so high doesn’t make a significant difference, something like a rebate cheque seems to be something that a lot of analysts are saying will be more effective.”

Meantime, Alberta’s NDP says the government needs to step up and provide more relief when it comes to skyrocketing fuel and utility costs.

“It’s all very well for them to say they’re thinking about it, and they’re talking about it, and they’d like to do something about it one day, but that just fails to take into account the lived reality of Albertans who are struggling right now,” said Energy Critic Kathleen Ganley.

“There are probably several things [the government] could do. They could look at rebates, they could look at a number of other things.”