The Alberta government cut its gas tax to save drivers money. The Prince Edward Island government cut its gas tax too. Prime Minister Mark Carney extended his own gas tax cut to make life more affordable.

Even the Parti Québécois, currently leading Quebec election polling, is promising to cut gas taxes if elected.

But not Saskatchewan.

The price of gasoline in Saskatchewan is about $1.82 per litre. The price of diesel is about $2.47 per litre. For gasoline, that’s about a 50-cent-per-litre increase since March.

And those high prices are made worse by Premier Scott Moe charging Saskatchewan drivers a provincial tax of 15 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel every time they head to the pump.

Moe’s gas tax adds $11 to the cost of filling up a minivan or $15 when filling up a pickup truck.

Albertans are saving $9 when they bring their minivan to the gas station or $13 for a truck because the Alberta government cut its 13-cent-per-litre fuel tax.

“It’s direct relief that will help Albertans keep more of their hard-earned money,” said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Drivers in P.E.I are also saving because of the government’s cut.

“Now is the time to let Islanders keep their hard-earned money in their pockets,” said P.E.I Premier Rob Lantz. “Gas prices are really affecting families and Island businesses right now.”

“This will provide meaningful relief for families and businesses and help make everyday life more affordable,” said Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne about extending the federal cut.

So why don’t Saskatchewanians deserve the same relief?

In Saskatchewan, driving isn’t a luxury. People commuting for work can’t take a flight from Swift Current to Moose Jaw or a train from Regina to Saskatoon. The only option is to get in your car and drive.

And the government should make that option as affordable as possible. The Saskatchewan NDP agrees and is also calling on the government to cut the gas tax as other governments have done.

In response to the NDP and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the Saskatchewan government usually says it won’t cut the gas tax because that means less money can be spent on fixing the province’s roads.

But that’s not how it works. All the money the government takes from Saskatchewanians in taxes goes into one big account called the “General Revenue Fund.” It can be spent on anything.

Giving Saskatchewanians a break at the pump doesn’t have to impact one cent of what the provincial government spends on road maintenance.

And since the government has extra cash right now for the same reason that gas prices are so high, it doesn’t have to change spending from its budget at all to give Saskatchewanians the tax relief they need.

Plus, the government didn’t do anything extra to collect that revenue. World events happened around it and the government collected a cheque.

And those same world events are making life more expensive for the average Saskatchewanian trying to get from point A to B.

The government should use its windfall to alleviate that pain by cutting the gas tax.

The government is projected to take in about $512 million this year in the fuel tax. It’s also taking in about $331 million more in revenue than it projected, mostly from natural resource revenues.

That means the Saskatchewan government can cut the gas tax for about eight months without even thinking of finding a dollar of savings in the budget. A driver filling up their pickup truck once a week would save about $480 during that time.

That’s a serious amount of savings when family budgets are being pushed to the brink.

Other governments are recognizing the pain that high gas prices cause and doing something about it. Why not Saskatchewan?