Open Letter to set the record straight

There’s been lots of talk lately about the BC Liberals’ gas tax and the NDP’s environmental policies, so I wanted set the record straight. I care deeply for the environment and I am committed to reducing our impact on global warming.

What the NDP is proposing is to cap emissions from large polluters. The National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy says gas taxes are the wrong way to go and the European Union and the US are moving towards cap and trade systems. The NDP believes we need to be part of a global solution to solve a global problem.

We need to look at a holistic method to tackle the issue of climate change. By simply imposing a tax we are failing to deal with the scope and complexity of the issue. A one pronged approached simply will not work. It is easy for big polluters, who make huge profits, to pay an annual carbon tax but it does nothing to actually cap the pollutants.

In addition to the Cap and Trade method we are proposing:

• Green Bonds: ethical, secure investments to green BC's infrastructure
• Low-interest loans to spur green retro-fits for home and business-owners plus the rebate system.
• Increase in affordable and reliable public transportation
• Public ownership over resources and retention of BC Hydro as a public asset..
• Ban on offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling
• Tenure Reform and sustainable forest practices, including a strong reforestation program that grows our carbon sinks
• Stimulating local economy and supporting local agriculture.

This comprehensive plan looks to battle climate change on a series of levels and makes battling climate change accessible for people of all income levels. The carbon tax takes money out of all of our pockets but leaves the most in the hands of the polluters.

I ask that you look at climate change as it is; a complex and critical issue that can only be overcome by tackling it from all angles. A tax won’t do that, a comprehensive plan will.