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Ottawa, ON – January 31, 2017

Today, Chris Warkentin, Member of Parliament for Grande Prairie–Mackenzie, called on Finance Minister Bill Morneau to publicly reject a plan to tax employer sponsored health and dental plans. This tax hike would cost Canadians $2.9 billion or $1,000 per year for many with these benefits.

The Conference Board of Canada has found that middle-class Canadians will pay an additional $1,000 in tax if the Liberals move ahead with their plan to treat health and dental benefits as taxable. This tax hike will affect Canadian families that receive health and dental benefits from their employers, as well as retirees that rely on benefits from their former employer.

“I’ve received hundreds of letters from folks in the Peace Country about this Liberal tax hike,” Warkentin said. “They’re telling me that taxing benefit plans will result in fewer plans offered by employers and that it will download more health care expenses onto the taxpayers.”

The Minister of Finance has confirmed that the Liberals are considering this new tax that will limit access to health care benefits that many Canadians rely on. This plan follows the Liberal pattern of raising taxes on education, children’s arts and sports, cuts to Tax Free Savings Accounts, and income splitting.

“The Liberals under Prime Minister Trudeau have engaged in reckless spending on pet projects throughout Canada and around the world,” Warkentin noted. “Now they’re trying to force Canadians to pay for their spending by taxing Canadians’ health care benefits.”

“Hardworking families in the Peace Country can’t afford another tax,” Warkentin said. “It’s time for the Liberals to start respecting taxpayers, instead of forcing Canadians to bail them out.”

For more information, please contact: (613-992-5685), or chris.warkentin@parl.gc.ca.