Given its value, a promotion offering the chance to win a free tank of gas at a Halifax gas station may just be the hottest ticket in town.
With gas at an all time high across Nova Scotia, motorists are looking for a break. Carmelle Byrne, a motorist in the Halifax area, thinks the government can start by pausing the HST.
“Stop with that piggyback tax. Take one off, that’s not fair for us. Things are expensive enough and now we’re paying so much more for gas,” Byrne says.
While the call for action on gas prices grows among Nova Scotians, the province is still debating on what action to take.
“We’re trying to think of what is the best way that we can get money to those most in need, the quickest,” says the province’s finance minister, Allan MacMaster.
Liberal Municipal Affairs Critic Lorelei Nicoll says, for starters, the province should remove all public transit fees.
“On certain days, there are certain things you want to do, whether it’s going downtown, whether it’s going to do a doctors appointment depending where that’s at. I think it’s a viable option,” says Nicoll.
In response to the Liberals suggestion, MacMaster says that’s not something he’s considering because bus fares haven’t been affected by the increasing gas prices.
“I would also point out that community services already has a program in HRM, and I believe they have a pilot in CBRM, with free bus passes to people who are on income assistance,” says MacMaster.
In New Brunswick, Premier Blaine Higgs had an afternoon call with other Canadian premiers and found there was overwhelming support to request a pause on the carbon tax - something Ottawa is declining.
“It’s an immediate response to high energy costs and people feel it every day, and we can do it very quickly,” Higgs says.
While New Brunswickers saw a four cent increase per litre on Thursday, Nova Scotians have to wait until midnight tonight to see what they'll be paying at the pumps Friday morning.
