BC's Carbon Tax the Right Direction

When Gordon Campbell announced that his government would be bringing in a carbon tax, a collective cheer went through the ranks of the Green Party followed by a intermittent silence. On one hand, we felt proud that our long championed tax shift was finally accepted by a governing party, and yet we knew that the carbon tax proposal was far short of what we had proposed and would be open to attacks from commuters as well as rural British Columbian if revenues were not wisely alloted.

Instead of focussing on the challenges, most of us decided to congratulate the Premier for going against political convention and having the willingness to proudly introduce a new tax.

In the green movement, we realized that the first year would be a learning experience in which the greatest challenge would be figuring out how to collect the tax. In subsequent years, we know we can pressure the federal government to bring in a more comprehensive national carbon tax and work closely with the provinces to find the right balance between tax cuts, regional rebates, improving public transit and investing in green technology.

Ideally, a comprehensive plan should be released in one swoop but realistically these plans require more than a single budget and may be better geared for discussion in this upcoming election year.

When I read the Carole James' response in Wednesday's sun, in which she claimed that Campbell made "a serious mistake" by bringing in a carbon tax, I realize once again how little environmental vision the NDP promises for this province. Rather than building on environmental progress, James appears willing to sit on the fence waiting for political momentum to change against reducing our carbon emissions.

This is a repeat of the attitude taken by the NDP's in regards to freeway expansion in the lower mainland, in which they chose to wait until after contracts were signed and farmland destroyed before taking a position. They felt by doing so they could tell NGOs that they cared while avoiding backlash from drivers.

The carbon tax proposal is not perfect. Too much off the revenue goes into the general coffers and back into broad income tax cuts and not enough is earmarked for regional concerns. The federal green party's plan, for instance, would ensure that homeowners in the colder interior got larger rebates and that more of the gas taxes paid by those in the Fraser Valley would be re-invested into a high speed interurban train running from Chilliwack to Vancouver.

While we are free to question many of the provincial government's priorities, those of us who care about climate change must send a clear signal to the BC Government that the carbon tax is the right direction.