Close X
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. to scrap carbon tax if federal government drops requirement: Eby

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Sep, 2024 03:14 PM
  • B.C. to scrap carbon tax if federal government drops requirement: Eby

A re-elected NDP government would scrap British Columbia's long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to "big polluters" if the federal government dropped its requirement for the law, Premier David Eby said Thursday. 

At a campaign event in Vancouver, Eby said his government would end the provincial carbon tax on consumers if the federal "legal backstop" requiring the province to keep the tax in place is removed.

"Two things will happen. One is we'll remove the carbon tax for everyday British Columbians, for the farmers, for the truckers, for the average British Columbian," Eby said Thursday.

"The second thing is we believe that climate change is a real and present threat, unlike (B.C. Conservative Leader) John Rusted who thinks it's a hoax. "And so we will continue to ensure ... that the big polluters are paying their fair share."

He said the federal Liberal government's approach to the carbon tax has "badly damaged" what was a political consensus on the issue in the province, which goes to the polls on Oct. 19.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has meanwhile vowed to end the carbon tax if elected.

British Columbia's provincial carbon tax has been in place since 2008, when it became the first jurisdiction in North America to put a price on carbon emissions, but Eby said the carbon tax issue has since been "politicized," something he called "incredibly unfortunate." 

"It's had an impact right across the country in terms of peoples' support for this kind of approach," he said.

"Combine that with rising interest rates, high global inflation, and we need to make sure that we're supporting British Columbians however we can right now." 

He said the federal government's "unsustainable hikes" on how much people have to pay, coupled with differential treatment given to certain products and provinces had squeezed consumers at a time they need "support." 

"I believed and still believe that a price on carbon is and can be an effective tool, which is why I think that big polluters need to pay in this province," he said.

Eby was flanked by Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew at the campaign event.

Kinew said climate change needed action but the politicization of the issue had alienated blue-collar workers and a "generation of Canadians," something he said the NDP couldn't afford.

He said there had to be "flexibility" in the face of the affordability crisis.

"Of course, we're going to be doing all those things to reduce emissions and to incentivize a low carbon economy, but we've got to keep a critical mass of Canadians on side with solving the climate crisis," Kinew said. 

B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad said Eby's "reversal" on the tax was a "desperate attempt to salvage his sinking political ship." 

"Eby has spent years championing this disastrous tax that punishes families and businesses. Now, faced with growing opposition, he’s pretending to care. It’s nothing more than a cynical ploy," Rustad said in a written statement sent minutes after Eby's comments. 

 BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, called Eby's pledge a "carbon tax flip-flop." 

“It is obvious that the B.C. NDP is making up climate policy on the fly. He now says big emitters should pay for climate change — but his government is giving billions in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry to increase fracking," she said in a written statement.

"B.C. deserves a clear, coherent plan for climate change and the clean economy, not confusing contradictions." 

MORE National ARTICLES

Singh says NDP drafting climate plan, won't say if it'll include consumer carbon tax

Singh says NDP drafting climate plan, won't say if it'll include consumer carbon tax
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh won't say whether he would keep the consumer carbon price if his party forms government at the next election. Speaking to reporters in Montreal on Thursday, Singh criticized both the Liberals and the Conservatives over their approaches to fighting climate change. 

Singh says NDP drafting climate plan, won't say if it'll include consumer carbon tax

Canada's consul general in New York at House committee today about official residence

Canada's consul general in New York at House committee today about official residence
Canada's consul general in New York is meeting with MPs today to talk about the purchase of his official residence. Former CTV journalist Tom Clark is answering questions at the House operations committee which is studying the government's decision to buy a $9-million condo in Manhattan.

Canada's consul general in New York at House committee today about official residence

Air Canada pushing for government intervention as clock ticks on labour talks

Air Canada pushing for government intervention as clock ticks on labour talks
Air Canada and business leaders are asking Ottawa to be ready to intervene in labour talks with its pilots as time is running out before a potential shutdown, but so far the government has said the two sides need to work things out.  Airline spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said Thursday that Air Canada is committed to negotiations, but it faces wage demands from the Air Line Pilots Association that it can't meet. 

Air Canada pushing for government intervention as clock ticks on labour talks

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded
When Canada's spy chief wrote a secret letter to the public safety minister last December — the week after a report emerged that two young women in the service had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague — it came with a warning. David Vigneault, then director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told Dominic LeBlanc that he expected "more cases to surface in the coming weeks," and that he had to be "transparent" about this with the minister 

Documents show dozens of harassment, violence cases at CSIS. It deemed only 8 founded

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire
RCMP say they've put significant resources toward investigating the death of a person found after they responded to a fire by a rural road east of Calgary. Mounties were called early on Wednesday morning to a report of a fire on the side of a rural road in Rocky View County.

RCMP investigating body found by rural road near Calgary after fire

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night. 

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

PrevNext