Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: B.C. carbon tax revenue should go toward preventing climate-related disasters like Cache Creek

May 5, 2023 | 11:38 AM

A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE B.C. INTERIOR get really upset at Justin Trudeau for the carbon tax — even though he had nothing to do with the one we pay.

Our carbon tax was first introduced in 2008 by the B.C. Liberal government under Premier Gordon Campbell and Environment Minister Terry Lake.

It’s true, the Trudeau government implemented a federal carbon tax for provinces that didn’t already have one, but B.C. was not affected by that move.

B.C. was the first jurisdiction in North America to implement a carbon tax, and made it revenue neutral — meaning people would theoretically get whatever they paid in taxes back in the form of various rebates and credits.

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The NDP government removed revenue neutrality shortly after it was elected in 2017. The government now offers low-income individuals and businesses some credits and incentives, but they pale in comparison to what they pay.

Today, the carbon tax collects 11 cents per litre on gasoline, 13 cents per litre on diesel fuel and nearly 10 cents per cubic metre on natural gas.

By its very nature, the carbon tax treats people in smaller rural and northern settings inequitably.

We tend to use all of those fuels more than those in the urban Lower Mainland and near the coast.

We use fuel to get ourselves around and to get products into our hands from where they are manufactured and distributed.

Not only that, our climate requires us to use more fuel to heat our buildings during the winter.

Alternatives are either not available, ineffective or too expensive for most.

This week, we have seen once again how the impacts of climate change also have a disproportionate effect on smaller communities.

Cache Creek is getting inundated with water, thanks in part to a wild swing in temperatures and in part to how wildfire has altered the landscape.

The type of work needed to prepare for flood events like this is far beyond what a village as small as Cache Creek would be able to afford on its own.

And that’s just one example.

If the carbon tax disproportionately impacts smaller Interior communities and climate change also disproportionately impacts smaller Interior communities, that should lead government to a logical conclusion.

It follows that the province should be putting its carbon tax revenue toward helping these communities get ready – flood mitigation projects and interface wildfire prevention.

If smaller communities are going to pay the carbon tax, they should get some more immediate and local benefits from it.

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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 Pattison Media.