EDMONTON — The UCP government has no intention of immediately lifting or reevaluating Alberta's fuel tax relief policy to help struggling Albertans, despite the federal government saying it will grant three months of relief from its own fuel tax, as Canadians continue to battle drastically high gas prices. "We do have a legislative program that, I'm hoping by this point, Albertans are starting to understand," said Alberta's Finance Minister Nate Horner to reporters on Tuesday. "If oil stayed elevated at the level it is today, they expect the tax can come off fully on July 1." Alberta's legislation dictates that partial or full relief from the provincial 13 cents per litre fuel tax will be activated following the close of a fiscal quarter in which the price of oil averaged over $90 USD per barrel, and will remain in effect for the full ensuing quarter. Averages can only be calculated after a fiscal quarter, though, which means Albertans will not see the fuel tax lifted until July 1, and it will only happen if the price of oil remains high for most of the time leading up to that point. .The UCP have faced pressure to go against the legislation for over a month following a surge in oil prices after the initiation of the US-Iranian conflict, with critics calling on them to activate Alberta's fuel relief program and lift the fuel tax, but they have consistently refused to do so."We have sympathy for the cost of living for individuals and families," said Premier Danielle Smith during Question Period. "That's why we brought the personal income tax cut, which is $1,500 for a household. That saves five times the amount that a gas tax would. We gave it up front. We're going to give it year after year after year, and we're going to continue watching, monitoring the situation."Pressure on the UCP increased Tuesday after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the Liberals intend to suspend the federal fuel excise tax from April 20 until September 7. The federal tax relief is expected to save individuals 10 cents per litre on gasoline and four cents per litre on diesel."I think they have to do what they can, from their perspective, looking at their revenue stream, so they can help Canadians," said Alberta's Finance Minister Nate Horner to reporters on Tuesday. Horner said the federal decision will have no bearing on their willingness to activate the provincial fuel relief program early, nor will it prompt them to reevaluate their stance. "Our program is defensive, so I would start there," said Horner. "I said, thank you to the feds; I'm grateful.""As an Albertan, I think if we're going to give them their flowers over this, you should also give us some for the fact that we don't have a sales tax. They still have a GST on fuel. There's more they can do. If our program reaches that threshold, the entirety of the tax is lifted." .This response has not satisfied critics, though. "It’s weird that we saw this gas tax cut happen in Ottawa first, but Smith still has time to do the right thing and cut fuel taxes for Albertans,” said Kris Sims, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Smith should fully cut the provincial fuel tax to save drivers 13 cents per litre of gasoline and diesel at the pumps.”Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said even 13 cents per litre could make a difference for families. "Albertans are having a very serious cost-of-living crisis right now," said Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi to reporters on Tuesday. "The provincial gas tax costs Albertan families home $300 a year; they cost businesses even more.""It would be very, very easy for this government not to stand on its formula and just provide Albertans with a little bit of gas tax relief and the massive windfall they're getting from elevated oil prices. Yet they refuse to do it because they want the money."Horner claims a belief, such as Nenshi's, is short-sighted, and it would take high fuel prices for more than a couple of weeks to help balance Alberta's budget. "I said a month and a half ago that running a large deficit didn't hurt anyone more than me, and I mean that," Horner said. "Questions have changed a lot in the last couple of weeks, but I think it's important you don't count your chickens before they're hatched. We're only a couple of weeks into this fiscal year."
