MONCTON, N.B. -- A carbon tax for Atlantic Canada would severely hurt trucking companies, says the leader of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association.

Flanked by Vicki McKibbon, chief operating officer for Armour Transportation Systems, and Gilles Chouinard of Dymanic Transport, the APTA Executive Director Peter Nelson told a group of New Brunswick MLA's that a carbon tax on energy products is nothing more than a "cash grab." He told the politicians to reject any plans for a carbon tax on fuels.

The coalition, made up of both the government and opposition MLAs, is touring the province to gauge  reaction to a discussion paper that proposes a similar carbon tax one implemented in B.C., according the New Brunswick Business Journal.

Starting this month, that province is requiring a 2.4-cents-a-liter levy on gas and diesel. The rate will jump to nearly 8 cents a liter by 2012. The tax is supposed to be revenue neutral, but truckers complain that it disproportionately hurts transport companies that have no choice but to use large amounts of fuel to operate their businesses.

McKibbon said that an 8 cent-per-liter upcharge would cost her company more than a million dollars -- a staggering amount considering profit margins for many Atlantic carriers are only about 2 percent these days.

She added that carriers would have no choice but to pass on the costs to customers, who, in turn will charge consumers more for products.