Calgarians can anticipate several bylaw amendments and tax or fee changes when the calendar flips to April. Read More
Gasses prices will likely be dropping, while wine prices will increase, amongst other ups and downs in fees and bylaws coming in a month
Gasses prices will likely be dropping, while wine prices will increase, amongst other ups and downs in fees and bylaws coming in a month
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Calgarians can anticipate several bylaw amendments and tax or fee changes when the calendar flips to April.
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Here are some of the revised rules that will be in effect Tuesday, impacting everything from the price of wine and gas to the cost of monthly recycling fees:
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No more carbon tax
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Calgary motorists should receive some reprieve at the pumps starting Tuesday, thanks to the elimination of the consumer carbon tax.
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Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the consumer carbon tax in 2019, as a levy that Canadians would pay on gasoline and heating fuels.
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The tax was highly divisive as it continued to go up amid rising inflation. Since being implemented, the cost of the consumer carbon tax had increased from $20 per tonne in 2019 to $80 per tonne in 2024.
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The tax became even more of a political lightning rod in 2023, after Trudeau announced a carve-out for households that use home heating oil, a move that primarily benefitted Atlantic Canada.
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After he was sworn in as Prime Minister on March 14, one of Mark Carney’s first announcements was to scrap the consumer carbon tax, effective April 1.
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The current carbon price for each litre of gasoline is 17.6 cents, meaning drivers should see a substantial saving at the pump.
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Canadians set to receive a carbon tax rebate on April 22 should still expect to receive it, Carney said.
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Photo radar reduction
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Starting Tuesday, the Alberta government will eliminate the use of photo radar on provincially controlled highways, which in Calgary include Deerfoot Trail and the ring road.
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Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen announced the reduction of photo radar in December, stating the province would make good on its promise to shut down automated traffic enforcement sites on provincial highways and limit its use to school zones, playground zones and construction zones.
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The province will also limit intersection cameras to red light enforcement only, ending the “speed-on-green” ticketing function.
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Dreeshen has long criticized the use of photo radar on provincial highways as a “cash cow” or “fishing holes” that generate revenue for police agencies without improving safety.
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The move has stoked a feud with Calgary’s police Chief Mark Neufeld, who has criticized Dreeshen’s comments as an overly simplistic view of policing. Neufeld has cited statistics indicating that using photo radar has reduced injury collisions at the 20 most frequently deployed locations in Calgary.