The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has called on the BC NDP to scrap the carbon tax ahead of a planned increase on April 1.
CTF BC Director Carson Binda argued that the policy has failed to achieve its intended result, and brought the government-issued receipts to prove it.
During a press conference outside Premier David Eby's office in Vancouver, Binda broke it all down.
"The carbon tax is not reducing those emissions as promised," he said. "Emissions data from the provincial government shows that emissions have risen since the introduction of British Columbia's carbon tax in 2008."
According to the data, in 2007 total emissions were 65.5 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. In 2022, that number had gone up ever so slightly to 65.6 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
"When the carbon tax was introduced by BC's government," Binda continued, "then-premier Gordon Campbell pledged that it would reduce emissions by 33% between 2007 and 2020. Not only did BC dramatically miss that target, our emissions have risen."
He then went on to lament the fact that the government plans to increase the carbon tax on April 1, at which point it will add 21 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per square metre of natural gas, and 25 cents per litre of diesel.
"The carbon tax costs British Columbians a whole lot of money, but we aren't seeing that promised environmental gain," Binda said. "Eby has a very simple choice ahead of him. Scrap the carbon tax before the April 1 tax hike, or tax British Columbians even more in 2025."
He noted that other provinces have done away with the carbon tax on essentials, with no repercussions from Ottawa.
"Eby needs to stop waiting for permission from the leaderless federal government in Ottawa, and provide us with real relief now," Binda concluded. "The carbon tax isn't working. It's not an environmental plan; it's a tax plan that's costing British Columbian families."
Binda added that the government released the data on December 30 "with no fanfare," suggesting it was done that way "because they didn't want British Columbians to see that their carbon tax isn't working."
When asked whether he believed Eby would stick to his promise and axe the tax if given the green light by the federal government, Binda pointed out that the carbon tax is still included in the budget, which is set to be tabled in early March.
He explained that if the BC NDP fails to do away with it before then, British Columbians could be stuck with a "zombie carbon tax" until 2026 regardless of whether Ottawa cancels the requirement.
