Vancouver – The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is reminding drivers in British Columbia to fill up at the pumps today because the carbon tax is going up Thursday, April 1.
“People will be paying more to heat, eat and drive to work as of tomorrow,” said Kris Sims, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Everyday working people are stretched to their limits right now, so it’s very disappointing to see Premier John Horgan increasing the carbon tax. It’s kicking people while they’re down.”
The B.C. carbon tax is going up to $45 per tonne on April 1. That means the carbon tax will cost 9.9 cents per litre of gasoline, 12 cents per litre of diesel and 8.8 cents per cubic metre of natural gas.
The carbon tax adds $7 to fill up a minivan, $12 extra for a light duty pick-up truck and $65 extra for a tank on a big rig truck that delivers everything.
“These added costs to everyday life add up and when politicians increase the carbon tax, they increase the cost of heating, eating and getting to work,” said Sims.
While B.C. has had the highest carbon tax in Canada since 2008, emissions in the province are still going up. According to government data, emissions have increased 10 per cent in the past three years and have gone up in five of the last seven years.
“When they first hatched the carbon tax in B.C., politicians told us it would reduce emissions, be revenue neutral and create an abundance of affordable alternative energies and today none of that is true,” said Sims. “Emissions are going up and the carbon tax is just a cash grab.”
The carbon tax is set to increase sharply within the next nine years. Horgan has signed on to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal plan to increase the carbon tax to $170 per tonne by the year 2030.
Within the next nine years, it will cost a family $27 extra in the carbon tax every time they fill up their minivan and $45 extra to fill up a pick-up truck.
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