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The NDP is proposing an immediate $200 rebate to offset skyrocketing gas prices and the rising cost of living for northern households.
Northern NDP MPPs and candidates say the rebate will help northern families after Doug Ford failed to keep his election promises to lower hydro and gas prices, and he refused to support a long-standing NDP plan to stop gas price gouging.
“In Sudbury today, people are telling me about having to choose between getting gas or getting groceries. They can’t afford more Liberal and Conservative empty promises. They need some relief now,” said Jamie West, MPP for Sudbury.
If the gas tax is temporarily lowered, gas companies can just jack up the prices and eat those profits themselves. So the NDP is calling on the Ford government to deliver concrete relief for Northerners by immediately issuing a one-time rebate of $200 per household.
“Families in Northern Ontario are dealing with some of the highest gas costs in the province while they are seeing the price of hydro keep going up,” said France Gélinas, NDP MPP for Nickel Belt. “Doug Ford broke his election time promises to lower these prices so he should be providing some relief to help families now. This rebate is just that, immediate guaranteed relief for Northern families.”
Northern drivers are paying some of the highest costs of gasoline in the province because of a lack of public transit alternatives that require them to depend on personal vehicles to get to work, school and other essential activities. The previous Liberal government’s cancellation of mass transit options such as the Northlander and inter-city bus service makes these challenges worse.
“The price of gas for northern seniors is eating away at their pensions. Workers are finding it harder and harder to afford to get to work each day. We should be helping northern families now, and this rebate does that.” said Mike Mantha, MPP Algoma-Manitoulin.
Gas prices are often most expensive in northern communities, with prices exceeding $2 per litre in some regions.
The NDP will force a vote in the legislature today, Monday, April 11 that will deliver relief to all northern households now. The plan calls for the Ford government to immediately issue a one-time rebate of $200 per household to offset the rising cost of gas, and other living expenses in Northern Ontario.
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