“As you may be aware…” Municipal Affairs Minister Josie Osborne wrote, informing local governments a secure lucrative revenue stream is coming to an end.
It turns out they had only just been made aware. The only inkling that an 11-year-old carbon tax rebate program is being cancelled was a heads-up delivered the previous day by her deputy.
The climate action revenue incentive fund was devised to entice local governments into B.C.’s newly-launched crusade to fight climate change. In return for them pledging to work toward carbon neutrality in their operations, the province refunds them the carbon tax they pay on fuel every year.
The low-budget effort worked like a charm. Nearly every municipality signed on over the years and about 50 have achieved carbon neutrality in their operations. There’s a lengthy list of climate change fighting measures throughout B.C. that municipalities leveraged to life, partly through the grants.
So there’s consternation that the $8.3 million budgeted this year will be the last of it.
In her previous role as a Tofino mayor, Osborne recognized it was a winner and championed it in her region.
But now she wants to wrap it up and isn’t clear if anything will replace it. Her letter confirms that “2021 will mark the wind down and final year of grant payments under this program.”
Even while kissing it off, she extolled its effectiveness. But at this point it looks like municipalities could be on the hook for their own carbon tax bills next year.
That would spur them to reduce or offset emissions, to be sure. But by using the stick, not the carrot.
Osborne is expected to meet some Union of B.C. Municipalities leaders this week to explain further.
The suspicion there is that this decision was made internally some time ago. Widespread unhappiness has developed in the week since it was sprung on them, as many mayors think their former sister-in-arms got it wrong.
Although the Municipal Affairs Ministry runs the program, the thrust of the overall effort is run by the Environment Ministry.
Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman has issued enthusiastic statements about the program for years. He acknowledged the concerns local government has, but told the legislature the year’s notice will allow for consultation about how the program can be “updated.”
He said there is “one year left” in Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program funding. But there was no public mention over the years of any time limit. There’s one year left only because the government has now said so.
Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes said it’s been an “amazingly successful” program that returned $1.3 million to the municipality over the years.
It was all devoted to climate change measures, most importantly to leveraging larger grants from senior governments.
Haynes said the annual grant of about $150,000 a year helped fund charging stations, home efficiency upgrade campaigns, green garbage programs and vehicle electrification.
Saanich is contacting all local governments to coordinate a request for a second look.
“To me personally, and to staff and council, it’s a puzzle why they’ve taken this step. So the cancellation of it is something that we really struggled to understand.
“They’ve probably done their best as soon as they could after the budget to advise us, however it’s still a surprise.”
Osborne told the legislature the program did the “heavy lifting” over the years in funding municipal efforts.
She said there’s $11 million in this year’s budget to work on making communities more “compact and efficient.”
B.C. Liberals noted it was “local government awareness week” and said Osborne was hypocritical to be proud of working with them while she was cutting their funding.
In addition to using the fund when she was Tofino mayor, Osborne was on a Union of B.C. Municipalities climate change committee. She also worked closely with Green MLA Adam Olsen over the years. He, too, rapped the decision.
“I just fundamentally disagree with the approach here, frankly.”
Liberal critic Todd Stone said: “Her community benefited from this program. But the first thing she does as minister is she goes and cuts it.”
Just So You Know: Premier John Horgan rode in to the rescue last week to intervene and fund a school nutrition program.
Mayors will be watching for an encore performance.