Ontario government’s gas-pump stickers should be in place by Aug. 30

Thestar.com
June 12, 2019
Robert Benzie

The Progressive Conservatives’ decals designed to “stick it” to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his federal carbon-pricing scheme should be on gasoline pumps before Labour Day.

Energy Minister Greg Rickford hopes to have the mandatory Tory-blue stickers attacking “the federal carbon tax” by Aug. 30, according to a proposal posted to the Ontario Regulatory Registry.

“The proposed regulation would require the stickers to be displayed upright in a prominent location within the top two-thirds of the side of the pump that faces motor vehicles when the pump is used to put gasoline in their fuel tanks, and the stickers shall not be obscured from view,” reads the provincial edict.

Scofflaws face fines of up to $10,000 a day for not abiding by the law and posting the 15 cm by 20 cm decals that read: “The federal carbon tax will cost you.”

“The proposed regulation would require gasoline retailers to display an equal number of English and French stickers at the retail outlet. The proposed regulation would take effect on Aug. 30,” the government order said, noting concerned Ontarians can comment on the plan till July 9.

Queen’s Park “is currently developing a progressive enforcement approach which could include an education campaign, written warnings, compliance orders, and charges under the Provincial Offences Act.”

In April, Rickford emphasized the thinking behind the 25,000 decals, which cost $4,954 and are being manufactured by Astley Gilbert.

“We’re going to stick it to the Liberals and remind the people of Ontario how much this job-killing regressive carbon tax costs,” the minister said.

According to Statistics Canada, 68,000 new jobs have been created in Ontario since the levy took effect April 1, which undermines the argument it is hurting employment.

Still, the province is spending $30 million on a constitutional court challenge and on an advertising blitz opposing the measure.

NDP MPP Marit Stiles (Davenport) said Tuesday that the PC stickers are Premier Doug Ford’s way of helping federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in the Oct. 21 election.

“Ford is blowing public money on partisan stickers to help his buddy Andrew Scheer get elected, and putting business owners at risk of conviction and fines just to make sure he gets his way,” said Stiles.

“The government should be focused on getting education and health care right, not picking fights over partisan advertising.”

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has complained the stickers violate Charter rights.

In a letter to Rickford and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney, the association urged the government to reconsider the heavy-handed move.

“The sticker as proposed constitutes compelled political speech and, at the very least, is an unreasonable violation, of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” lawyers Steven Sofer and Sandra Barton wrote in April.

“We ask that you abandon any efforts to move this legislation forward. Should this legislation pass, as is, we have been instructed to immediately commence a Charter challenge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice,” the lawyers said.

The government argued that it’s just trying to inform Ontarians about gas prices.

But Green Leader Mike Schreiner, whose party has printed its own parody stickers that warn “climate change will cost us more,” said the Tories are misleading people because they do not mention the federal rebates to offset higher fuel costs.

“It’s outrageous that (Queen’s Park) is forcing businesses to be complicit in this anti-climate misinformation campaign,” Schreiner said in April.

“We’re inviting gas stations to make use of the stickers if they want to inform the public about the full costs of the climate emergency,” he said as he unveiled a decal showing climate costs for Canada could reach as high as $91 billion per year by 2050 with average temperatures rising by 6.3 C by 2100 if no action is taken to reduce emissions.

Toronto Mayor John Tory also made a mock-up of the decals last month with the slogan “provincial cuts will cost you.”

The Chamber of Commerce has renounced the stickers as “an example of unnecessary red tape.”

“It is both a new administrative burden and an increased cost to business thanks to the punitive and outsized fines for non-compliance,” said the chamber’s president Rocco Rossi earlier this spring.

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has complained about the decals because they ignore the fact that rebates for families of $307 this year will rise to $718 annually by 2022. Those tax breaks are being subsidized by industrial polluters.