CALGARIANS SPEAK OUT ON RISING GAS PRICES
Lined up at gas pumps around the city Monday, Calgarians shared their opinions with Postmedia on the newly implemented carbon tax and how they plan to deal with levies on hydrocarbon fuels this year.
Brian Kowalski
“Big budgeting — maybe not drive a big truck. It’s winter, usually gas is cheap and it’s the highest I’ve seen in a while. It’s like long weekend prices all the time now.”
Anna Stapleton
“Everything you buy, your lipstick, coat, clothes, dishes … absolutely everything is going to go up. I just feel like it’s the wrong time of year. It’s another tax grab for the coffers — it’s just going into the general fund. They say two-thirds of people will get a rebate, why do it then? It’s redistribution of wealth.”
Trevor Robinson
“We’re not going to be able to drive as much. We’re basically paying B.C. prices without having B.C. wages. I always go to Costco (for gas) because it’s cheaper.
“I own my own business and it’s going to affect that as well. I signed a petition to get rid of it, but we have to wait for 27 more months before that can happen.”
Mary Ann Oxtoby
“It’s going to cost me more to run my small business. I go and entertain at seniors’ homes and continuing care, and I really don’t want those people and programs to have to pay more for me to come down and entertain.
“We’ve already been making our cuts. We’re trying to buy in bulk, make more meals at home and are just staying closer to home. I think we needed to do more research on what this is going to cost the average Albertan…”
Greg Sobuliak
“I started the process years ago … we’ve changed the furnace, insulated our house, done our windows. Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do, we just have to pay.
“Personally I think it’s just another form of taxation. It’s not going to solve any problems with climate change. I think it’s just a politically correct way of looking like they’re doing something.”