National

B.C. opposition parties heat up climate debate with attacks on NDP's plans

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Nov, 2023 01:18 PM

Climate change has become a hot button political issue in British Columbia with opposition parties launching election-style attacks on the New Democrat government's clean climate policies.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad told a news conference at the legislature that the NDP's climate policies are taxing people into poverty and they don't do anything "to change the weather."

He says the Conservatives, if elected next year, will eliminate the province's carbon tax, roll back climate-friendly building codes and consider nuclear power as an energy option.

The Conservative Party of BC will not go down the rabbit hole of over-taxation, hype, scare-tactics and false promises. Our climate approach will be about safeguarding BC’s future and fighting tooth and nail to make life more affordable for everyday, hardworking British… pic.twitter.com/Y3YzKV714G
— John Rustad (@JohnRustad4BC) November 22, 2023

Rustad's comments come a day after Opposition BC United Leader Kevin Falcon called the NDP's CleanBC climate plan destructive and promised to replace it with common sense measures that fight climate change without hurting taxpayers.

Seeing Kevin Falcon and the BC United-Liberals reverse their climate policies makes me chuckle.

What was the point of kicking me out of the BC United-Liberals just to parrot my positions?

Flip-flop Falcon strikes again. #bcpoli https://t.co/f8dKIgl27W
— John Rustad (@JohnRustad4BC) November 21, 2023

Falcon says BC United will ramp up liquefied natural gas export plant production in B.C. in an effort to replace reliance on coal abroad and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

CleanBC is the NDP government’s plan to lower harmful emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.

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