Gas fireplaces in B.C. will be subject to new 12 per cent tax starting April 1 (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

FOSSIL FUEL PST

Kamloops businesses say new fossil fuel PST will punish residents purchasing new gas furnaces, fireplaces

Mar 23, 2022 | 3:02 PM

KAMLOOPS — Gas fireplaces and furnaces are as common in Kamloops as anywhere. It’s the cheapest option to keep your place warm.

However, the province is trying to shift the use of gas fireplaces and furnaces, increasing the provincial sales tax starting April 1 on new fossil fuel-based units from seven to 12 per cent. The government wants to encourage B.C. residents to switch to electric-based heat pumps.

But the tax, businesses say, will be charged at the supplier level and customers won’t see it on their final bill.

“It’s an invisible tax,” said Tara Johnson from Johnson Walsh Plumbing & Heating in Kamloops. “The end user isn’t going to see that tax. The tax is going to be charged at the purchasing of the equipment, so it effectively just becomes an increase [cost] in the equipment.”

Question of the Week

Will you participate in this year's 'Go by Bike Week'?

Jun 02, 2025

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: The Power of Pow Wow

Jun 02, 2025

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: June 2, 2025

Jun 02, 2025

Companies estimate it could cost consumers in Kamloops a couple hundred dollars more on their next purchase.

In addition, business were also only given five weeks to implement the new tax, a tax many in Kamloops feel is unfair — simply because heat pumps do not operate well during the below-zero winters we get here.

“It’s kind of like trying to melt an ice cube in a freezer when it’s already -5, -10 outside. It’s really hard for a heat pump to reject any more cold,” said Johnson. “So you have to have an alternatively source of heat whether that’s an electric furnace or gas furnace.”

The two Kamloops MLAs have heard the calls, especially from businesses, and are trying to make change in Victoria, but they’re afraid the message has fallen on deaf ears.

“Really what we’re hearing is people saying, ‘Hey look, if you want to incentivize heat pumps and energy-efficient appliances in their homes, that’s great, but there’s a huge population and a number of housing units in the Lower Mainland that we could tackle first without being punative to people that really at this point don’t have an affordable option and a gas-fired appliance for their home in the Interior and the north,'” noted Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar.

B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson wasn’t available for an interview with CFJC News, but her department forwarded a statement claiming that “heat pump technology has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, now allowing people in colder climates in B.C. to benefit from the efficiency and savings associated with this cleaner option. Even the Yukon is offering heat pump rebates because the technology now works so well in their climate.”

The finance ministry adds there are “$16 million in new top up incentives specifically for people in rural and northern communities to make heat pumps more affordable for them as well — on top of the other federal, provincial, and municipal rebate programs available if you are switching from a fossil fuel heating source.”

Regardless, Kamloops operators like Johnson Walsh would like to see the extra tax scrapped and for the government to provide further incentives on high-efficiency furnaces since it believes heat pump technology hasn’t been proven to work here.

“We can’t honestly sell a heat pump to somebody in this climate in good faith and tell them that it’s going to save them money,” noted Johnson.