Despite BC United highlighting the increasing number of seniors using our food banks, delivering hundreds of your letters outlining concerns for seniors facing rising costs, and organizing a petition to advocate for raising pensions above the poverty line, unfortunately, it appears government will once again fail to act on these challenges in 2024.
Worryingly, it’s predicted that costs will worsen this year, with more seniors than ever facing the difficult decision of choosing between paying for groceries, medication or housing.
Starting on April 1, seniors, and all British Columbians, will encounter rising costs as B.C.’s carbon tax is set to rise from $65 a ton to $80 a ton. The carbon tax will cost 17 cents per litre of gas, 21 cents a litre of diesel, and 15 cents a cubic metre of natural gas. Meanwhile, the cost of heating our homes, something that is not optional in Cariboo-Chilcotin, will also rise.
There are many tools that this NDP government could use to drive down the cost of living, yet David Eby’s NDP government continues to drag its feet. That’s why a Kevin Falcon-led BC United government intends to use all possible tools to put money back in your wallets.
Our initiatives include removing the carbon tax from home heating, recognizing that it is a necessity. We will remove the provincial fuel tax so we can save drivers up to 15 cents per litre every time they fill their vehicles. We’ll also lower the cost of groceries by scrapping the carbon tax for on-farm fuel use, lowering the operating costs for farmers, which will result in lower costs in our stores.
B.C. seniors never expected to retire in a time when the province is facing an unprecedented affordability crisis. British Columbians need a government that will take meaningful action to address affordability and start growing B.C.’s economy once again.
Lorne Doerkson is the MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin
