MLA urges his own government to hold steady on carbon tax
A B.C. Liberal MLA has started an online petition to pressure his own government to not raise the carbon tax.
Pat Pimm, the MLA for Peace River North, said he hopes to gather support from rural residents and businesses in his region who oppose recommendations by a climate leadership team to raise the carbon tax by $10 per year starting in 2018.
“I had a bit of angst with some of that stuff, quite frankly,” Pimm said of the climate team’s 32 recommendations to lower pollution and help the province reach its climate change goals. In particular, he said increasing the carbon tax would be a financial burden on future generations, like his grandson’s.
Pimm said he was moved to start the petition after a news release by the Pembina Institute last week claimed more than 130 businesses want the carbon tax increased.
“I started asking around the community and couldn’t find any businesses that agreed with that at all,” he said. “So I said, ‘I’m going to start a petition and find out what the interest is.’”
On Monday, Pimm’s electronic petition had attracted more than 700 signatures. The government is accepting feedback on the climate plan until Friday.