Politician Jamie Fox has proposed implementing a tax on insurance premiums in order to create a fund that would help those in PEI affected by severe weather events.
Fox, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) of Prince Edward Island (PEI), suggested the tax idea after Premier Wade MacLauchlan failed to provide a definitive answer on how the province should help homeowners displaced and devastated by the recent storm.
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Fox had asked MacLauchlan in the legislature on what kind of help the province could extend to those whose homes have been ravaged by the storm. The premier said that while the idea of helping the affected was worth exploring, he did not immediately pledge to provide any extra support. MacLauchlan pointed out that conditions on PEI have not reached the severity threshold necessary to prompt emergency federal funding. The premier also said that Islanders should look to their insurance policies first before turning to provincial aid.
In response, Fox reminded the premier about the one time the province provided money to two cities following a storm event that occurred back in 2015.
“Last winter one of the first acts of this premier was to give an extra $2 million to the cities of Summerside and Charlottetown for extraordinary winter storm costs,” Fox explained. “Rural communities got nothing.”
The PC leader then suggested the creation of a new tax on insurance premiums - one that would generate about $1 million a year in revenue - that would go into an emergency fund.
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