British Columbia’s political parties responded to David Eby’s Oct. 1 announcement to cut gas and diesel taxes by 10 cents per litre.
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British Columbia Premier David Eby announced Oct. 1 that a re-elected NDP government would cut provincial taxes on both gas and diesel by 10 cents per litre and crack down on oil and gas companies for price gouging.
Eby said the two-part plan would save drivers up to 30 cents per litre, or about $20 on an average tank of gas, and that a portion of the provincial gas tax would be suspended “to provide immediate relief.”
Former interim Conservative Party leader Trevor Halford, now an MLA candidate for Surrey-White Rock, issued a statement criticizing the announcement, saying the NDP had made life in B.C. more expensive during nine years in government and that Eby’s new approach was unveiled “three weeks before an election.”
The BC Green Party said in an emailed statement that the NDP previously refused to suspend the gas tax because the revenue was needed for services such as public transit and to prevent gas companies from profiting from it.
The Greens said “nothing has changed beyond the gas companies becoming even more predatory,” arguing for permanent solutions and stating they wanted relief without decreasing revenue or undercutting services that depend on it.
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