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By Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: NDP missing the mark on climate action

Jul 26, 2019 | 9:20 AM

JOHN HORGAN AND THE NDP like to tout their climate action policies, to give the impression that they are the ones that can best respond to climate change and in turn, move towards a new era. However, what the NDP never mentions is that they inherited not only the country’s strongest economy from the BC Liberals, but a myriad of programs and initiatives aimed to reduce emissions and position British Columbia as a leader in legislated climate action. So it shouldn’t be surprising that two years after forming government, they have done little to move the dial forward, and in many cases, have turned it back.

The NDP have 16 years worth of on-the-record statements, opinions, questions, and ideas all waxing poetic on this topic. Some of those statements still ring true today, but most have fallen gravely short of the goals they laid out while in Opposition. John Horgan and many of his senior cabinet ministers campaigned against the carbon tax, were staunchly against both LNG and Site C, and even questioned the merits of the electric vehicle rebate program.

Yet here we are, two years later, and John Horgan’s NDP are surprisingly far from where they were before. It seems that the tenuous alliance with the BC Greens, who are also guilty of not being able to keep their past promises, is the only thing giving the NDP’s climate stance any credence. On that note, let’s examine the NDP’s record so far. Spoiler alert: it is great in theory, poor in practice.

First is one of the most baffling decisions. After raising the carbon tax— a tax that was a successful template for jurisdictions across North America and that John Horgan himself opposed when it was introduced— he scrapped the revenue neutrality of the tax which was established by the previous government to incentivize green initiatives.

What is not being discussed or touched on enough is that the entirety of the increase in carbon tax revenue is not earmarked by the NDP specifically for clean energy or emission reduction projects. It instead goes into the black hole of general revenue, the catch-all basin for the other 18 new or increased taxes levied against every single hard-working British Columbian.

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Only 15 per cent of that carbon tax revenue goes towards John Horgan’s half-baked CleanBC plan which is budgeted to collect carbon tax on a steadily increasing tonnage of GHG emissions over the next three years. One would think that if CleanBC was actually working, GHG emissions would be decreasing. It seems they need emissions to rise in order to hit the revenue targets in their budget.

Another glaring example is how John Horgan and the NDP have decided to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the highly successful electric car rebate program. Introduced by the previous BC Liberal government, the program provided a $5,000 government subsidized rebate for eligible zero-emission vehicles. This is what an actionable step against rising emissions looks like. Take a necessity like transportation and incentivize a cleaner, greener way of going about it.

Unfortunately, it was announced last month that the rebate amount is being slashed, and is at risk of being scrapped entirely due to a lack of funds to keep the program going. This is in the face of legislated vehicle emission targets coming into effect in a little over five years. I believe the program should be fully funded so we can continue to get people in zero-emission vehicles, even if that means taking some of that precious general revenue carbon tax money and putting it into something that is actually working.

Looking back on two years of this government, it is not surprising to be disappointed in their handling of countless files, especially rural and resource-based ones like forestry. However, one would have thought that a Green/NDP alliance would have fostered a more fulsome and frankly functional climate strategy. Instead, we have half-hearted attempts and the outright dismissal of dissenting opinions.

If John Horgan can mess up a file that should have been an easy win, think of what he is doing with the hard ones.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.