Stephen Harper is suffering from selective amnesia.

We the voters seem to be suffering from the same affliction.

Our Prime Minister, when he was in opposition back in August 2005, took the Liberal government to task for cutting gas taxes when the prices were soaring then.

"There’s no reason for the federal government to profiteer when consumers are hurting," he said.

"This is causing considerable dislocation. There are a lot of people on fixed incomes," he reasoned.

"There are a lot of businesses on thin margins that are going to be affected by this," he warned.

"Gas taxes could be reduced by as much as five cents a litre," he challenged.

The Tories vowed that they would remove the GST completely when gasoline prices exceeded 85 cents per litre.

Harper’s ride to the Prime Minister’s office was fuelled in part by this rhetoric.

Now that he has arrived, Harper seems to have parked his gas-tax-cut promises in the garage of no comment.

The same families, small business owners, and those on fixed incomes whom Harper was so concerned about have disappeared from the government’s radar.

Gas prices are skyrocketing and we are being hosed — not only at the pumps, but also by those who made vows to ease our burden.

And experts are predicting that the price of fuel will rise nationally if Canada adopts the ill-conceived carbon tax.

We the taxpayers — and the politicians love it — channel our outrage at the huge profits being raked in by the oil companies, forgetting that the government coffers are being enriched off our backs, in the form of unfair taxes on this black gold.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) estimates that over the past 12 months — the period of May 2007 to April 2008 — the average national price of a litre of gasoline paid by Canadian motorists was approximately $1.16.

This represents a 17-cent increase over last year’s average price.

Gas taxes account for an average 28 per cent of the pump price.

Translated, this means that Ottawa will collect approximately $5-billion in direct gasoline and diesel taxes this year. Another $1-billion will come from the GST.

The CTF rightly reminds us that we need to take Ottawa to task for three reasons . . . .

First, GST is charged on the total pump price, including all federal and provincial taxes. It is a tax on tax. It is one thing for government to tax a good or a service, but quite another to tax a tax. This practice should end.

Second, motorists continue to pay a 1.5-cent-per-litre deficit elimination tax that was imposed in 1995. The federal deficit was vanquished in fiscal year 1997-98. Since the books were first balanced a decade ago, Ottawa has racked up over $100-billion in surpluses, yet motorists are still paying the deficit elimination tax. This tax measure has pumped an extra $6-billion into federal coffers over the same period. This is money that should have remained in the pockets of over-taxed Canadians.

Third, the federal government benefits from higher gas prices. Every ten cent increase in the price of gasoline pumps an extra $100-million into government coffers. With Canadians increasingly running on empty trying to fill their tanks, it is maddening that the government is getting richer.

How much more does the government need?

Ottawa continues to gain from our pain at the pumps because we the taxpayer are not making enough noise.

If we want politicians to keep their promises, then it is our duty to ensure they are constantly reminded of it.

So before you head out for that Summer 2008 road trip, drive to your Tory MP’s office and give Ottawa some fuel for thought.