File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Steve Morisette, MLA for Kootenay-Monashee

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Supporting British Columbians by repealing the consumer carbon tax

Apr 9, 2025 | 10:30 AM

THERE IS NO QUESTION that the carbon tax has been an important tool for B.C.’s fight against climate change. However, it has become a divisive issue across our country, and the debate about it distracts from the important work being done to address the climate crisis. Given the real cost-of-living pressures facing people in B.C. and around the world, many have decided they can no longer support a consumer price on carbon.

That is why, with Ottawa eliminating the federal carbon tax, our government has repealed B.C.’s consumer carbon tax.

This does not mean we are giving up on fighting climate change – our work is bigger than any one measure. We will continue to fight climate change by ensuring big polluters continue to pay by incentivizing industry to innovate, and ensuring British Columbians have affordable options to make sustainable choices.

B.C.’s Output-Based Pricing System encourages industries to innovate and invest in B.C.’s green economy by providing the cleanest facilities in the province with credits they can sell, while companies that exceed pollution limits must make direct payments or offset their emissions.

We are working to ensure British Columbians continue to have clean, affordable, reliable power so they can heat their homes, and build a strong economy with good jobs.

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Last year, BC Hydro released their updated 10-year capital plan, which focuses on building an economy powered by clean energy, creating new job opportunities, and keeping electricity affordable.

The plan includes improving dam safety and infrastructure throughout the Interior and Kootenays, including equipment refurbishments, replacements and improvements to maintain continued reliable operation at facilities on the Bridge River and Columbia systems.

From unprecedented atmospheric river events to record-breaking wildfire seasons, British Columbians are experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis first-hand. It’s important now more than ever that our government continues to tackle the effects of the climate crisis by taking better care of the places we call home, reducing pollution and waste, and building up a sustainable economy that provides people with good local jobs.

Many of the initiatives we developed through CleanBC are already yielding concrete results. The most current data available shows a reduction in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector of 43 per cent below 2014 levels, well on track to achieve the 45% reduction target by 2025. Heat pump sales have also skyrocketed under CleanBC, with average sales from 2019 to 2023 being nearly double the average of the previous five years. Going forward, we will be conducting a review of CleanBC to consider how we can meet our provincial climate commitments without a consumer carbon tax.

In these uncertain economic times, our government is committed to growing B.C.’s economy and making sure our province is ready for whatever challenges lay ahead. We will continue to protect families and businesses in the face of Trump’s tariffs, while continuing our work to grow a clean and sustainable economy.

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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.