Gas prices across B.C. have seen a sharp decline after the consumer carbon tax was lifted in the early hours of April 1.
B.C. was the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce widespread carbon pricing through a consumer tax in 2008. The policy was popular for years, surviving left- and right-leaning governments.
But Premier David Eby says it became “toxic,” following years of “axe the tax” campaigning from both federal and provincial Conservatives, and he vowed to do away with it once the federal government introduced the means to do so. (Notably, the first party to use the “axe the tax” campaign was the B.C. NDP, after the carbon tax was introduced by the governing B.C. Liberals in 2008).
It all came to a head in a late-night legislative session that started Monday and stretched into Tuesday morning as third and final reading of the bill was passed.
Eby …