BC United Leader Kevin Falcon on Tuesday announced his plan to scrap what he called “the NDP’s destructive so-called CleanBC Plan” and replace it with a commonsense plan that will build B.C.’s economy, create jobs, and grow peoples’ paycheques, all while reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
“The NDP’s so-called CleanBC Plan will kill jobs, kill paycheques, kill billions in funding for vital public services and plunge our province into a recession,” said Falcon. “The NDP’s plan won’t even make a dent in global greenhouse gas emissions, but British Columbians will pay an enormous price. The CleanBC Plan is nothing more than a ‘Cost B.C.’ scheme.”
Falcon said that analysis by the Business Council of British Columbia using the NDP’s own hidden numbers has revealed what he said was “the shocking economic costs and destructive impacts of the NDP’s reckless plan.”
Falcon claimed that the NDP’s ‘Cost B.C.’ scheme will slam the brakes on B.C.’s economy, seeing growth slow to just 0.4 per cent in 2030 — the lowest rate in the history of the province. It will see household incomes plummet by $11,000 annually and see B.C. lose 200,000 jobs. In addition, it will significantly shrink B.C.’s economy, leading to a nearly $3 billion loss in tax revenue for healthcare, education and other vital services.
“British Columbians are stretched to the limit, more kids than ever before are learning in portables and our healthcare system is being pushed to the brink. In the face of all this, B.C. cannot afford the NDP’s dangerous ‘Cost B.C.’ scheme,” said Falcon. “We need commonsense measures that will grow our economy and actually fight climate change, rather than punishing hardworking British Columbians who are just trying to make ends meet.”
Falcon announced that a BC United government will:
* Scrap the NDP’s ‘Cost B.C.’ scheme and replace it with commonsense measures that focus on real climate results while providing more jobs, higher incomes and lower taxes.
* Go all-in on LNG, displacing reliance on coal abroad, reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and improving our economy at home.
* Prioritize private sector innovation in areas like Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage and the electrification of the LNG sector.
* Invest in climate-resilient infrastructure to not only prepare for the impacts of climate change, but also create jobs and economic growth. A BC United government will invest in resilient reservoirs, durable dykes and other key infrastructure.
* Cut wildfire emissions. It will aggressively overhaul forestry management practices. By hitting fires hard and fast upon initial identification, B.C. can significantly reduce a major source of carbon emissions — which in some seasons have exceeded 300 per cent of B.C.’s annual emissions. These measures complement BC United’s comprehensive wildfire policy reforms, which focus on modernizing the firefighting service, leveraging local expertise, empowering local response teams and improving support for evacuees.
* End the unfair EV subsidy. Hardworking, lower income folks should not be subsidizing Teslas for the wealthy in the middle of an affordability crisis.
The BC United said that this announcement comes on the heels of major announcements Falcon made last month to address affordability. Those measures include eliminating the provincial fuel tax, cancelling Premier David Eby’s carbon tax hikes, removing the carbon tax from home heating, and lowering food costs through the elimination of the fuel tax entirely and the carbon tax from on-farm fuel use.
“The NDP’s failed leadership has made British Columbia the most unaffordable province in Canada, yet the NDP plans to make things drastically worse by shrinking paycheques and killing jobs,” said Falcon. “Our commonsense, realistic plan recognizes that in a cost-of-living crisis, people need well-paying jobs more than ever. It has never been a choice between real climate action and our economy; this plan recognizes that with real leadership, these things go hand-in-hand.”
