The premier of British Columbia NDP MLA David Eby posted an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this week saying it’s unfair for Atlantic Canada to get a break on home heating oil but not British Columbians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his carbon tax break for Atlantic Canada last week saying he will be putting a 3 year pause on the federal carbon tax for home heating oil after a years long trend of getting pummeled in the polls with a steady decline of support across Canada including Atlantic Canada.
Other premiers wrote open letters to Ottawa with the same requests asking for fairness and provide relief to all Canadians on the federal carbon tax on home heating.
On Thursday, Oct 31, 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will not provide anymore exceptions to the federal carbon tax.
The BC Carbon Tax is controlled by the BC Government not the federal government.
BC United has called on the BC NDP to pause the carbon tax on home heating in British Columbia while Conservative Party of BC renewed its consistent call for an all out axe the carbon tax and the clean fuel tax which is also known as the second carbon tax.
In British Columbia a pause on home heating oil would only benefit between 25,000 and 39,000 homes said the provincial government. Unlike Atlantic Canada where home heating oil is used in almost every single home. According to BC Hydro in a 2021 report, 50% of British Columbian homes use natural gas for heating while only 10% use heat pumps for heating.
David Eby attacked BC United by accurately pointing out the fact BC United created the carbon tax when it was the BC Liberals.
The BC Carbon Tax was the first carbon tax in Canada which was introduced in 2008 by then BC Liberals, now BC United and was a “revenue neutral” model to provide tax cuts in other places for British Columbians.
BC NDP John Horgan ran an “axe the tax” election campaign. The BC Liberals formed government in that election. BC NDP’s environment critic, Shane Simpson, use to refer to the carbon tax as “regressive and inept tax“.
Fast forward to 2017, John Horgan became Premier of British Columbia and changed the carbon tax from a “revenue neutral” model to spending the money on subsidies for “green initiatives”.
“Standing up after the summer that we had for British Columbia to be a leader in climate change is an important thing” Eby said in the BC Legislature when BC United leader Kevin Falcon asked the premier to give British Columbians a break on the carbon tax for home heating.
In 2023 BC forests went up in a fiery blaze which is mostly blamed on forest mismanagement and fire exclusion policies.
Friday morning at a press conference in Vancouver with Premier David Eby, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters the carbon tax relief for home heating oil is for all Canadians.
David Eby didn’t stand up for British Columbians because he controls the BC Caron Tax and doesn’t need permission from Justin Trudeau to give British Columbians a break. Eby says he has been talking with the federal government about help to provide free heat pumps and free installation to the very small number, less than 2% of British Columbians that use home heating oil.
The federal NDP party on the other hand says its going to back the federal Conservative Party’s motion in the House of Commons this coming Monday to pause the carbon tax on all forms of home heating for all Canadians.
The Bloc Lead Yves-Francois Blanchet said federal carbon tax doesn’t apply in Quebec and asked for the conservatives to focus on a file that includes Quebec.
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, MP for Burnaby South in B.C., also acknowledged the motion doesn’t cover B.C. but neglected to hold BC NDP Premier David Eby accountable for being in control of the BC Carbon Tax and not giving B.C. a break on all forms of home heating.
