QUEEN'S PARK -- MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Bill Walker says the governing Liberals are "nuts" to introduce a Carbon Tax in Ontario at a time when their party is steeped in a series of spending scandals. He says the tax is also punitive on people as higher taxes translate into lower wages and incomes and will potentially lead to lay-off and job losses.

A carbon tax will raise the price of almost all goods and services, from gas and home heating to farming and food production, explains Walker.

"It's not right. Our people are already paying high taxes, and struggling to keep their heads above water with the rising cost of living, namely sky-high energy rates. This Carbon Tax will be an added burden on them."

Walker also says he doubts that a single penny collected from Ontario's Carbon Tax will go toward fighting global warming.

"Just as we've seen with the province's Drive Clean program, recycling and eco taxes, all these extra taxes go into the government's general coffers to cover their spending spurges," he explains. "This government is running a whopping $12.5-billion deficit, and we know for a fact that they need extra revenues, be it a Carbon Tax or the pending Pension Tax, to bail out their decade-long overspending habit. In essence, this tax will be a new funding source for whatever they need at the moment.

"The Liberals have an established pattern of misguided spending. I would not trust them to manage the Carbon Tax any better than they've managed eHealth, gas plants, smart meters, Ornge or the green-energy subsidies.

"At the very minimum, we need to see concrete goals that such a tax will achieve so we're not repeating mistakes made by other jurisdictions. Quebec went down this path and as a result their drivers are paying about 50 cents more in taxes for each litre they buy."

"My colleagues and I reject the Liberals' premise that the government's job is to be all things to all people," he says. "To us, this new tax is a gamble, on people's wallets and jobs, and it's a high cost on our slow economy. We will not be supporting it."

As a result, Walker and his colleagues have launched a province-wide petition to collect signatures from overtaxed and frustrated residents, with the aim of stopping the latest Liberal tax grab, says Walker. The petition can be found on the MPP's website at http://billwalkermpp.com/docs/petitions/Petition_-_Stop_the_Carbon_Tax.pdf

Source - Bill Walker office