B.C. energy minister's dropped memo ends up in hands of Opposition BC United

A British Columbia cabinet minister says a memo she mistakenly dropped contained notes she sent for herself about a “big and shiny” affordability measure for the next budget, but the paper ended up in the hands of the Opposition BC United party.

“Not only is this memo an admission from the NDP that they are not doing enough on affordability, it also proves they are willing to use the carbon tax as a political slush fund for partisan political gain.” @TomShypirka

All the details 👇 #bcpoli https://t.co/2KTFgGZuA7

— BC United Caucus (@BCUnitedCaucus) November 23, 2023

Energy Minister Josie Osborne admitted she is the author of the memo which the BC United party says shows the New Democrat government "panicking" about growing opposition to the provincial carbon tax.

In the past two days, both the BC United and the BC Conservatives have come out against BC’s climate plan, saying they would scrap it and repeal or weaken many of its key policies. That would be a big mistake, with major impacts to B.C.’s economy. 1/x #bcpoli

— Evan Pivnick (@EvanPivnick) November 23, 2023

Osborne says the memo is a copy of notes she made Wednesday about possible ideas for the government's February budget following discussions she had with an adviser who she refuses to name.

The minister says she emailed the memo of ideas to herself, but she must have mistakenly dropped a printout of the document.

🚨 Revealed: BC United releases secret NDP plans to kill green energy jobs in B.C.

NDP Energy Minister Josie Osborne wants green energy project "scaled down".

Read more 👇https://t.co/uQ4OZLGnOM pic.twitter.com/nTLF9kwcI2

— Kevin Falcon (@KevinFalcon) November 23, 2023

The memo suggests that if Premier David Eby was looking for something "big and shiny" for the budget he could announce the use of carbon tax revenues to freeze BC Hydro bills.

The Opposition BC United has been critical of government's CleanBC plan, calling it economically destructive, and attorney general critic Mike de Jong asked Osborne to explain her memo because the government has consistently refused to give cost relief for residents from the carbon tax.