Carbon Tax Time

It appears that after today's budget, British Columbia will be the first Canadian province to implement a carbon tax. This page says its about time. As regular readers are more than aware, this page goes out of his way at every opportunity to sandbag the current regime in Victoria. However, every now and then even the most contemptuous of governments does something right. If British Columbia is going to even consider long-term, sustainable economic growth, the price of damaging the environment has to be factored in throughout the BC economy.

That being said, this page shares the concerns of NDP Finance Critic Bruce Ralston in that if all British Columbians live in the same environment, all British Columbians should pay their fair share to protect it. Dinging working people at the pumps while giving corporate polluters a free pass isn't going to work, and it will only remind voters of the BC Liberals' love of corporate camapaign contributions and contempt for the little guy. Also, a carbon tax implemented in BC to fight Greenhouse Gas emissions has to stay in BC to fight Greenhouse Gas emissions. No touchy-feely 'offset' purchases on the other side of the world, and certainly no Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) to let corporate BC to greenwash themselves and kickback a donation to the Liberals.

The only destination for any carbon tax can be identified in two words: Public Transit. The majority of Greenhouse Gas emissions come from private vehicles, and every step needs to be taken to take as many of them off the road as possible by making transit cheaper, faster, and more comfortable.