NDP proposes immediate price rebates for Northerners

New Democrats will force a vote in the legislature on a $200 rebate for northern households

NORTHERN ONTARIO – 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.

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 on 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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Quotes

MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell (Thunder Bay-Atikokan)
“Northern families pay more. We drive more to get to where we need to go. People need relief. Doug Ford should be helping northerners put money in their pockets now and put an end to gas price gouging.”

MPP Michael Mantha (Algoma-Manitoulin)
“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.”

MPP Gilles Bisson (Timmins)
“Northerners need relief from gouging at the pumps. The Ford government, like the Liberals before them refused to stop gas price spikes, and northern families keep paying higher and higher costs. Instead of a break, families are getting more empty promises from Doug Ford. This $200 rebate is action now to take some burden off northern families.”
MPP John Vanthof (Timiskaming-Cochrane)
“Northern families are finding it harder to pay for costs to get to work, to visit family, and drive their children to school or day care in the mornings. Gas prices shouldn’t be preventing them from doing the essentials. It’s time to help lift some of that burden with this rebate.”

MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong)
“First Nations in the North are paying the highest prices for gas and food. The price for gas in some communities is nearing $3 a litre, and the price of food is so high that families are finding it very difficult to buy nutritious groceries. A $200 rebate will provide welcome relief for families in fly-in communities that are already paying too much.”

MPP Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk-James Bay)
“In the North, we don’t have access to mass transit opportunities. Our geography is vast and our winters are tough. Most of us need vehicles to get to work every day and we travel longer distances. Higher gas prices mean more and more out of pocket costs for families. Ford refused to end gouging at the pumps. The least he should do is take a little burden off of northern families now.”
Erika Lougheed, NDP candidate (Nipissing)
“Homecare workers shouldn’t need to skip meals in order to put gas in their car to take care of seniors in our district, like some are doing now. High and fluctuating gas prices have real consequences for people in Nipissing; for work, care, and health of our communities. This relief will help people now until we form government and address the root causes of these compounding issues of affordability throughout the North.”
Lise Vaugeois, NDP candidate (Thunder Bay – Superior North)
“People in Thunder Bay and the Northwest who need to travel long distances, whether for work or to access health care, are paying higher and higher bills. Families need relief from skyrocketing gas prices and the rising cost of living. It’s time for Doug Ford to take real action to put some money in people’s pockets now.”
Michele McCleave-Kennedy, NDP candidate (Sault Ste. Marie)
“Doug Ford and Ross Romano like the Liberals before them refused to stop gas price spikes in Sault Ste. Marie and across the province. They could have provided stable and fair prices for Northerners with the NDP’s plan to end gouging at the pumps. The didn’t. They also broke their promise to lower gas prices by 10 cents. Northerners need a guarantee that they will see some savings. This $200 in your pocket today, provides that.”
Background
New Democrats will move the following motion on Monday, April 11:

PLAN FOR RELIEF FOR NORTHERN ONTARIO HOUSEHOLDS
Whereas the lack of public transit alternatives across the North require Northern Ontario drivers to depend on personal vehicles to get to work, school and other essential activities, and the cancellation of mass transit options such as the Northlander and inter-city bus service exacerbates this challenge; and

Whereas gas prices are often most expensive in northern communities, with prices exceeding $2.00 per litre in some regions; and

Whereas Bill 111 has no requirement for gas companies and other retailers to lower prices after the gas tax is reduced, and the government’s own calculations show that the average driver will save as little as $45 over six months, an average of $7.50 per month; and

Whereas the Ford government has failed to deliver on commitments to lower hydro and gas costs, and failed to reinstate the Northlander, and Northerners disproportionately affected by these failures cannot afford more broken promises; and

Whereas Northerners need help now and cannot wait three months for relief;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to deliver real relief for Northerners by immediately issuing a one-time rebate of $200 per household to offset the rising cost of living in Northern Ontario.