The Ontario government is moving to cut the aviation fuel tax rate in Northern Ontario in half.
Finance Minister Rod Phillips and Colleges and Universities Minister Ross Romano, also the Sault MPP, made the announcement at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
First announced in the 2019 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: A Plan to Build Ontario Together, the Doug Ford government is proposing to cut the aviation fuel tax rate in the north to 2.7 cents per litre from 6.7 cents per litre. The new rate is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2020.
"Living in northern Ontario can bring with it a higher cost of living, in part because of greater reliance on air travel and air freight," said Phillips in a news release. "That is why we are helping reduce costs in this region by cutting the aviation fuel tax rate."
The lower aviation fuel tax rate would help reduce costs on things like groceries and air travel.
The reduced aviation fuel tax rate would apply to the districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming, the province said.
With the cost of groceries for a family of four in some parts of the North running about $980 per month or more, Ontario says the proposed rate reduction could save about $230 per year for some families.
