By Curtis Galbraith

Money

Warkentin calling on federal government to cut carbon, gasoline taxes to bring down the cost of living

Jul 11, 2022 | 6:00 AM

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said last week rising interest rates that are meant to slow inflation could lead to a recession.

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie MP Chris Warkentin says the Liberal government “now has to respond to the problem they created” and thinks there are things the government should do right away.

“I think the government should immediately cut the carbon tax. It’s one of those things that impacts the cost of everything that we consume, specifically energy products, so gasoline and home heating and gasoline (and) food products as well as anything that needs to be transported in this country.”

Warkentin says there could also be a cut to gasoline taxes

He adds higher interest rates will have what he calls “a negative impact” on people who have mortgages, or any other kinds of borrowing and rising inflation will hurt people on fixed incomes along with the average family.

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Warkentin doesn’t expect any recession that may come to have a significant impact on the Peace Country.

“There is no expectation that a slight recession would have any impact on the commodities that we produce here in the Peace Country and so I believe that job growth will continue to be strong here. I believe that opportunities for development will continue to be here.”

Warkentin also thinks the Peace Country already being an affordable place to live will help guard against any recession.

“Having not seen massive increases in the cost of housing and some of these runway prices that we’ve seen in other regions, especially urban centres like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, I don’t believe that we are going to see any major or abrupt changes because we haven’t seen the massive increases, so I don’t think we’re going to see the massive drop.”

Warkentin says there have been other predictions of a recession that have not come true.