B.C. will scrap carbon tax if feds remove requirement: Eby

British Columbia’s premier says the province will end the consumer carbon tax if the federal government removes the legal requirement to have one.

David Eby was asked about the issue at an unrelated news conference Thursday, after federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh hinted that his party’s climate change plan might not include the tax. Singh, when asked about the tax, said working people should not bear the burden of the cost of fighting climate change.

Eby echoed those sentiments while acknowledging that the province was the first in Canada to introduce a carbon tax in 2008.

“The context and the challenges for British Columbians has changed. A lot of British Columbians are struggling with affordability,” he said.

“Our commitment is that if the federal government decides to remove the legal backstop requiring us to have a consumer carbon tax in British Columbia, we will end the consumer carbon tax in British Columbia.”

While Eby did say fighting climate change is necessary – taking a shot at BC Conservative Leader John Rustad in describing it as “real and not a hoax,” he said a better approach would be making big polluters and corporations pay.

Rustad was quick to respond, characterizing Eby's staements as a "flip flop."

In an interview with CTV News, Rustad said the move was, in his opinion, politically motivated to appeal to voters in the lead-up to the election.

“The only thing that’s changed is we're in the middle of an election, and he’s feeling the pressure," Rustad said. "Whereas us, as the (BC) Conservative Party, we have always been principled in what we're doing in terms getting rid of the carbon tax, because quite frankly this is hurting average, everyday people.”

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau also used the term “flip-flop” to describe what Eby said Thursday.

“It is obvious that the BC NDP is making up climate policy on the fly. He now says big emitters should pay for climate change - but his government is giving billions in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry to increase fracking,” she wrote in a statement.

“B.C. deserves a clear, coherent plan for climate change and the clean economy, not confusing contradictions.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Robert Buffam