Furey’s refinery fee is a tax on the poor for the rich
Dear Editor:
A few years ago, crude reached $150 a barrel, and gas at the pumps was $1.50 a litre.
Now gas is gone beyond that price, while crude is approximately half what it was back then.
Some questions for Premier Furey:
You put an environmental tax on gas a couple years ago to curb the use of gas then put ads on TV to travel the province as much as possible, and burn more gas, which meant more taxes for government, and more pollution. Why?
Then North Atlantic approached the Public Utilities Board to get a 5 cents a litre on gas to make up for their expense importing refined fuel and was granted that wish. All of a sudden gas jumped up 5 cents per litre not only on North Atlantic gas but also on Esso and Irving, which are bigger importers than North Atlantic. Premier Andrew Furey made a deal with the new owners of Come by Chance to continue to take from the residents of this province 5 cents a litre on every litre they use in transportation, whether it’s Esso or Irving to give to the new owners of the refinery long into the future. That was not the PUB, that was our premier.
Question to the premier: We are paying the biggest price for gas ever and you are saddling us with yet another raise of 5 cents per litre. Is any of this money going to Esso or Irving, or is it all going to North Atlantic?
What this government is doing is taking from the poor and giving to the rich (a corporation). Many of our seniors and low-income citizens can look forward to a cold and hungry winter.
(Ret.) Capt. Wilfred Bartlett