"In an unexpected move last week, Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan announced massive increases in the fees for services offered by Motor Vehicle Registration. The cost to register a vehicle went up by 30%. In addition to this, the cost to renew a drivers licence also went up by a similar amount," said Sweeney.

"There was no consideration of the ability of drivers to pay these fees or a recognition that automobiles are essential to residents in this province due to a lack of public transportation in many areas."

The Liberal MHA predicts the number of drivers without registration or valid licences will increase substantially over the next year.

"There is no question in my mind that the number of unregistered vehicles will increase. We already have a problem in this area due to prohibitively high fees and this latest increase will do nothing but make the problem worse.

"Just last month the government announced initiatives to deal with uninsured motorists, attributing high insurance rates as being the primary problem causing uninsured motorists. I’m not sure why the government might feel any differently about these fees.

"Residents in this province pay substantially more for vehicle registration than most other Canadians. For example, it costs $74 per year in Southern Ontario and just $37 per year in Northern Ontario to register a vehicle each year. Our neighbours in Nova Scotia pay just $60 per year. Compared to the $180 charged by the Williams government, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are obviously being over-taxed for vehicle registration."