B.C. premier defends scrapping tax rebate amid Trump tariff threats [Video]

A day after B.C.’s NDP government scrapped a tax rebate that was a signature plank in the party’s election campaign, Premier David Eby is defending the decision.

With the B.C. budget just weeks away, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced Thursday that the $500 per person/$1,000 per household tax rebate was being put on hold amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s evolving tariff threats.

Speaking with Global’s Focus BC on Friday, Eby said the rebate was proposed when B.C. appeared to be emerging from a period of high inflation and low consumer confidence.

“Now what we are seeing is because of the tariff threats, we have businesses making decisions, ‘Well we are not going to expand right now we are going to wait and see what happens,’” he said.

“All of that has knock-on effects, it’s been priced in by economists who do projections for us.”

Eby said the province was shifting to a “back to basics” …