South Shore- St. Margaret's MP Rick Perkins speaking in the House of Commons. Photo: Government of Canada.
South Shore-St.Margarets MP Rick Perkins is once again calling for relief from high gas prices, this time for fire departments.
Perkins says fire departments run on tight budgets and as such and changes to their costs can result in other services needing to be cut.
“The Chester Volunteer Fire Department in my riding thanks to skyrocketing costs of diesel has had to double its fuel budget,” said Perkins.
“Higher gas prices mean reduced spending for training and vital equipment to keep our communities safe.”
“This government is forcing our volunteer fire services to pick between fueling their trucks, and purchasing life-saving equipment they need.”
Perkins is asking the federal government to offer relief from the federal taxes imposed on fuel for firefighters. As it stands taxes on fuel in Nova Scotia make up about 70 cents of the total per litre cost.
Last week, Perkins made similar calls, asking for relief from fuel taxes for fishermen who he says are now only going out on the water every other day.
So far there has been no indication from the federal government that they will be offering any sort of respite from the federal fuel taxes they impose.
Alberta and Ontario have opted to move forward with plans to offer temporary relief to the provincial fuel taxes imposed on those jurisdictions but so far Nova Scotia has not indicated they will be following suit.
