Vaughn Palmer: B.C. NDP is hammering you in the (carbon-tax) pocketbook

VICTORIA — The most sobering entry in this week’s budget package was the NDP government legislation to more than triple the carbon tax by the end of the decade.

The enabling legislation, introduced Tuesday by Finance Minister Katrine Conroy along with the rest of the budget, included a schedule for how the levy will escalate year by year starting April 1.

The tax on gasoline at the pump will climb from the current 11.05 cents a litre to 37.43 cents on April 1, 2030.

The levy on natural gas for home heating and other purposes is likewise scheduled to climb from 9.79 cents a cubic metre to 32.40 cents. Presuming you heat with natural gas or oil, check your most recent billing, circle the carbon tax levy, multiply by three and there’s about what you’ll be paying in 2030.

There are proportionate increases for propane, kerosene, butane, ethane methanol and a dozen other fuels, all set out in the legislation.