Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is playing the populist card to the hilt, and taking a leaf out of Donald Trump's playbook when it comes to playing fast and loose with the truth.
In a recent open letter and tweet (well, of course he is sharing this stuff over Twitter, like his mentor!), he claims that Trudeau and the Liberals are instituting a "secret fuel tax" which will "increase the cost of gas by at least 4c/l". In fact, he is referring to the Liberals proposed clean fuels standards, a far from secret measure that is intended to help Canada (belatedly) achieve its goals and commitments under the Paris climate change accord.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, a business-at-any-cost organization if ever there was one, estimated that the clean fuel standards move could add about 1.5c to a litre of gasoline and 3.7c to a litre of diesel. So, Scheer's figure of 4c/l is a little disingenuous to say the least. Even worse, though, is his claim, or at least strong implication, that poorer families could suffer by as much as $100 a month because of the changes. At 4c/litre, this would mean that these poor struggling Canadians were using 2,500 litres of gas a month, which, assuming an average fuel efficiency of 10l/100km (for the sake of convenience), would require a monthly drive of 25,000 km, and be costing them over $3,000 a month in gas costs. Hardly surprising that they are living paycheck to paycheck in that case!
This is just the latest howler by Scheer, and you know it will be far from the last in this election season. Is this the only way that Conservatives can get themselves elected these days? What's depressing is that it does seem to work - witness Donald Trump, Doug Ford, Jason Kenney, Brexit, and several other campaigns in recent years. It seems like you have to go back a good few years before you find a conservative elected on their own merits, without resorting to these kinds of underhand and nefarious tactics.
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