David Eby
B.C. Premier David Eby said that British Columbia will eliminate the carbon tax entirely. He made the announcement March 14 in Surrey at Simon Fraser University, where he and B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey had participated in a town hall. Eby had previously said that B.C. would eliminate the consumer portion of the carbon tax if Ottawa were to drop the federal requirement, having campaigned on it during the last provincial election. Eby’s announcement comes just hours after federal Liberal Leader Mark Carney became Canada’s new Prime Minister. Carney’s cabinet soon thereafter issued an order-in-council repealing the requirement for the tax. Ottawa’s decision ends B.C.’s pioneering carbon tax first introduced in 2010. Government’s official statement announcing the change recognized this history, but offered few additional details in framing its elimination as a response to political realities.
- BC Government Press Release: Premier’s statement on carbon tax increase
- Cheryl Chan, Vancouver Sun: B.C. government preps legislation to scrap carbon tax