B.C. Liberals promise to halt city’s natural-gas powers
The B.C. Liberals used the election campaign Saturday to pick a new fight with the City of Vancouver, saying if re-elected they’ll strip the city of its powers to restrict natural-gas use in new building construction.
Andrew Wilkinson, Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Quilchena, said a Liberal government would change the legislation that lets the city set its own building code, called the Vancouver Charter, and remove its ability to crack down on the use of fossil fuels like natural gas.
“We’ve come to the conclusion the only way to deal with this situation is to repeal the city’s ban on natural gas,” said Wilkinson.
The city’s natural-gas restrictions, which have been known for at least nine months, are set to come into effect on May 1.
Vancouver has insisted there is no actual ban on natural gas, and it’s simply trying to move toward more energy-efficient developments that reduce pollution.
“The city wishes to clarify that it is not banning the use of natural gas in Vancouver,” a news release from the city said Saturday.
“The city’s new rezoning policy (the Green Building Rezoning Policy, which comes into effect May 1), sets energy-efficiency and emissions targets for new buildings only, and only if a developer seeks a rezoning. How a developer meets those targets is up to them; it can involve a mix of better insulation, thicker windows and better design, as well as opting for renewable energy. Developers can choose to build new buildings with natural gas, provided they can meet the energy-efficiency and emissions targets (50-per-cent decrease in GHGs).”
However, the changes do place energy-efficiency rules on new developments, which some in the development community have said are so restrictive that they effectively constitute a ban on traditional natural gas, because it’s unlikely developers would choose to build with gas connections under the rules.
Among the critics of the plan is B.C.’s restaurant industry, which has warned the ultimate effect will hurt small businesses and restaurants that use natural gas for cooking, patios, fireplaces and barbecues. Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, said Saturday that it’s unrealistic for Vancouver to ask the industry to transition to “renewable natural gas,” which is a different product that’s more expensive.
“It’s semantics, they are banning natural gas,” he said of the city. “But they are saying we’re not because it’s renewable natural gas. But there’s not enough renewable natural gas.
“Over the last year we’ve had a lot of small-business owners absolutely concerned around the uncertainty of this issue,” he added. “I really appreciate for our sector the provincial government stood-up and did something.”
Wilkinson brushed aside questions about why the Liberals didn’t use their majority to make the changes months ago, rather than leaving it to two days before the rules come into effect, during an election campaign.
“The ban is about to come into place Monday,” he said. “It’s timely to get out the word now so people don’t’ make decisions and face a flip-flop.”