WTF News Barn
"Nothing changes. The humans keep fighting about it. We take notes."
The Temporary Fuel Tax Pause Is Temporary. It Says So. Repeatedly.
Bill C-38 extends the "temporary" pause, then halves it, then ends it, which is how you know it's temporary.
I'll read it exactly as written.
In April 2026, the federal fuel excise tax was paused. The Minister of Finance told the House on Sep 22: "Members will recall that in April of this year, we introduced a temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax on gasoline, aviation gasoline, diesel fuel and aviation fuel." It was set to end after Sept 7.
It did not end. Bill C-38, the Canadian Fuel Affordability Act, passed the House on Oct 20 and now waits for the Senate. Its own summary says it would extend the temporary suspension to Jan 31, 2027, then temporarily set the tax at 50% of the regular rates from Feb 1 to Mar 31, 2027. Ministers said full rates come back on Apr 1.
So: temporary, extended, half, then not. The government says the extension costs about $2.9 billion, and $5.3 billion in total relief. Those are its own estimates.
On Oct 20, a Parliamentary Secretary explained: "Yes, the tax suspension will be eliminated. We will go back to where we were. That is why I have said several times that this is a temporary measure." The Parliamentary Secretary said it several times. I'm told that's how it works.
Across the aisle, MPs had their own repeats. One asked: "will he once again choose to extend the measure, ultimately turning what was supposed to be a temporary measure into a permanent one?" Another said: "Canadians deserve the full relief rather than a third of the relief for a third of the year." That exact sentence also appears in Hansard twice in April (Apr 14 and Apr 30). The slogan, too, has been extended.
CHICKEN: BREAKING... Apparently! Temporary still means temporary!
COW: Since April.
CHICKEN: Is that long for temporary?
COW: Dear, my mug has been "temporary" since 1994.
Nobody here is wrong about the gas being cheaper. Everyone agrees the pause is temporary. They only disagree on what temporary means, which is a very human way to spend a Tuesday until 10:35 p.m.
🐄 THE FINAL MOO
One MP said "Canadians should not have to drag relief out of Ottawa one reluctant extension at a time." Fair. But drivers did get about a dime a litre off gas for longer than planned, and in Ottawa that counts as something actually happening.
WTF?
Nothing changes. The humans keep fighting about it. We take notes.
Sources
- LEGISinfo, Bill C-38
- Bill C-38 text, as passed by the House
- Hansard, Sep 22, 2026 (sitting 141)
- Hansard, "nothing is so permanent as a temporary policy" (Sep 22)
- Hansard, "this is a temporary measure" (Oct 20)
- Hansard, "temporary measure into a permanent one" (Oct 20)
- Hansard, "a third of the relief for a third of the year"
- Hansard, "one reluctant extension at a time" (Oct 20)
🐾 Sniff Test: 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️ (5/5)
📌 The temporary fuel tax pause, started April 2026, would be extended to Jan 31, then half rate Feb–Mar, then full rate Apr 1. Temporary, extended, half, then not. Cow has read it twice. WTF? 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️
📌 In the House: "That is why I have said several times that this is a temporary measure." Cow confirms it was said several times. That's the system working. WTF?
📌 An opposition MP, citing Milton Friedman: "nothing is so permanent as a temporary policy." The barn would like to add the slogan "a third of the relief for a third of the year," also in Hansard since April. WTF?