The Carbon Tax is Full of Hot Air

The BC Liberals are attempting to chase the poor and middle class out of the province and make British Columbia an elite centre for the rich. Living in the Lower Mainland, residents already feel the frustration of a ridiculously expensive housing market and pricey car insurance; filling up at the pump is bank-breaking as it is, but it's about to get a lot worse.
On July 1, 2008, drivers will begin paying a carbon tax on all fossil fuels; this will add 2.4 cents to already skyrocketing gas prices—and the tax will go up in the next few years. But to offset this new cash grab, Finance Minister Carole Taylor promises cuts in income tax and money credits for residents, including a $100 cheque mailed out to all British Columbians this June.
Fuel prices already include a lot of taxes and this additional tax may make driving completely unaffordable for many people. Included in the price of gasoline is an Excise Tax, in effect since 1995, and the ever-present GST, which are both charged almost country-wide and come to 14.8 cents a litre. Then there is the BC provincial tax of 14.5 cents. But on top of that, Vancouverites pay an extra 6 cents to cover a Transportation Tax that only two other cities in Canada charge. But even Montreal and Victoria pay less, at 1.5 and 2.5 cents respectively. The amount of money the government is already taking from its residents is substantial; if the BC Liberals want a cut of gas profit to go to the environment, then they can cut it out of the current provincial tax instead.
What the Liberals aren't addressing is the trickle-down effect of the carbon tax; when gas goes up, so do goods and services. By 2012, the carbon tax will bloat to around 7.2 cents a litre. If the current high price of lettuce is the proverbial canary in the coalmine, then not only driving but imported food will be unaffordable as well. Although this may encourage people to switch to transit and the 100 Mile Diet, it will also starve others out of the province.
Switching to transit wouldn’t be so bad if TransLink would improve their service to accommodate the Lower Mainland’s growing population, especially after the increase in fares this past January. Yet SkyTrain is still a claustrophobic’s nightmare during peak hours and does not accommodate late customers; bus riders in the suburbs must still wait 30–60 minutes for most routes.
But what about AirCare? Isn’t that inspection program supposed to be cutting back emissions? AirCare costs owners of older vehicles (1991 or later) $23 annually, while 1992 vehicles are tested every second year at a cost of $45 per session. The BC Liberals have to decide what they want: a tax of a test, because they can’t have both.
BC’s Green Party, who should be be pleased with this initiative, doesn’t even agree with the new tax. Leader of the Green Party, Jane Sterk, claimed the carbon tax “has failed our major industries because it provides no incentives to truly innovate and adapt” and it still lacks focus on reducing emissions.
The BC government wants to get its cake and eat it too, and on July 1 it will, when the carbon tax comes into effect. Meanwhile, Vancouver and the GVRD’s commuter woes are comparable to death from a thousand paper cuts; but the cuts are pennies and the death is bankruptcy.