OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is criticizing the Conservative Party for promising to reimpose a tariff on imported personal protective equipment. 

“The PPE tariff meant Canadians were on the hook for big tax bills when they were buying masks to keep their communities safe during COVID-19,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director with the CTF. “The federal government was right to remove the PPE tariff just days after we blew the whistle.”

The Conservative Party platform pledges to “reinstate the tariff on imported PPE.” The platform argues that this proposal would “recognize and secure the longevity of Canadian manufacturers of PPE.”

In May 2020, the federal government dropped the 18 per cent tariffs on medical masks and other PPE after the CTF publicly raised this issue.

The CTF investigated the tariff after Stewart Young, the mayor for Langford, B.C., provided documents showing the tariff would increase the cost of acquiring 252,000 masks by nearly $57,000.

“The federal and provincial governments should not be profiting via tariffs and taxes on essential items required in the fight against COVID‐19,” wrote Young in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Conservatives need to come up with ideas to grow the manufacturing industry without hammering Canadians with a tariff on PPE,” said Terrazzano. “We can encourage manufacturing by cutting taxes and red tape, but Conservatives shouldn’t be trying to make masks more expensive.”