You can cut back on how much you use your car — or your barbecue, for that matter — to absorb the increased cost of fuel that took effect Monday. The federal carbon tax has arrived in Ontario.
District of Cochrane Paramedic Service Chief Jean Carriere says he budgeted for it, but if the cost of fueling ambulances goes any higher for whatever reason, he’s going to feel it.
“We never go below half a tank, but all of our vehicles have over a hundred-litre tanks – anywhere between 100 to 140 litres. So when we’re filling those up, I mean a cost per litre, 14 cents a litre…”
Bob McIntyre: “So 14 bucks a fill-up.”
Carriere: “Yeah, exactly, so it goes up pretty quick.”
Carriere notes that the paramedic service can’t reduce its fuel use.
“Emergency call volume is going up. We’re transporting more patients. So I mean, we’re going to use more fuel and so that’s just going to add to the cost of operating a paramedic service.”