Ottawa sitting on $3 billion fuel tax surplus

WINNIPEG (Jan. 31, 2000) — A new Manitoba government study suggests that the current annual federal transportation surplus is almost $3 billion and growing, fuelling calls for a national investment in transportation infrastructure.

“We know that for every dollar the federal government collects from road fuel taxes, about 5 cents is returned to the provinces in terms of spending on infrastructure,” said Minister of Highways Steve Ashton. “The report supports our contention that a national transportation investment strategy is affordable and we are calling on the federal government to pump the revenue it collects from fuel taxes back into provincial infrastructure.”

The provincially funded study, “Federal Transportation Spending and Revenues, 1987-1997, was conducted by the University of Manitoba Transport Institute. The study focused on the gap between what the federal government collects from the transportation sector in the form of taxes, fees and rents, and what it returns to CanadaÕs transportation system through various agencies, subsidies and cost-sharing programs.

Federal spending on transportation has declined 65% since 1987-88, while over $38 billion in fuel taxes were collected during the same period. Fuel taxes made up 81% of all 1997-98 transportation revenues, and are now 27% higher than in 1987- 88, according to the study.

Copies of the provincial report are available by contacting Manitoba Highways and Government Services via e-mail at rplaza@hwy.gov.mb.ca or phone Rosario Plaza at (204) 945-6701.