B.C. Today – Daily Report December 6, 2018

Quotation of the day

“It is going to be a budget. There will be lots of numbers and many zeros.”

Following the announcement of the province’s ambitious Clean B.C. emission reduction strategy, Premier plays coy about how the plan will be funded, telling reporters ​ ​ that details will be revealed in Budget 2019.

Today in B.C.

On the schedule The House is adjourned for the winter break. MLAs are scheduled to return to the House on February 12, 2019 for the delivery of the government’s throne speech.

B.C. unveils “fully funded” Clean B.C. plan

The NDP government says its ambitious new Clean B.C. plan will ensure the province meets its ​ ​ legislated emissions reduction target — cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 per cent from 2007 levels by 2030. The goal will be reached primarily through extensive electrification of industry and personal transportation and incentives that encourage energy efficiency and innovation in areas such as housing, infrastructure and waste management.

The plan will be “fully funded” but what it will cost and how its funding will be sourced will not be released until February 19 — the date the government plans to release its 2019 budget.

Clean B.C. will reduce the province’s overall GHG output by 18.9 megatonnes (MT) — 75 per cent of its 2030 reduction target. The remaining reduction requirements will be determined in the next 18 to 24 months. Currently, two-third of the province’s energy needs are met by fossil fuels, although that share has been decreasing since 2010.

“The foundation of this plan is addressing how we move … [and] how we live and encourage industry in … to invest in a clean future and take advantage of the opportunities that will flow from that,” Premier John Horgan said. ​ ​

According to Horgan, B.C. is well-positioned to make the transition to a low-carbon economy due to its plentiful access to hydroelectric power and the forethought of previous governments.

“I give full marks to Premier Gordon Campbell for his leadership on carbon pricing,” Horgan ​ ​ said, while also praising former premier W.A.C. Bennett’s “foresight to build the reservoirs that ​ ​ now will power the electrification of our economy.”

Industrial switchover The bulk of the required reductions will fall to industry — particularly the province’s mining and oil and gas sectors — which are expected to slash their GHG emissions by at least 8.4 MT by 2030.

Extensive electrification of industry operations will require new transmission lines and better connectivity to supply remote sites in northern B.C.

The province plans to leverage its carbon tax, which is scheduled to reach $50 per tonne by 2021, to encourage individual operators in the province to become the cleanest in the world. Operators that meet that standard will be eligible for a reduction in the amount of carbon tax they pay above $30 per tonne.

Carbon tax revenues will also be used to support initiatives aimed at further reducing the carbon footprint of heavy emitters. Cleaning up commercial transportation will also be a priority. To that end, the province is launching a pilot project that switches 1,700 freight trucks to cleaner and zero-emission fuel options.

A staggered roll-out Many planks of the Clean B.C. plan were previously announced, especially those that will directly affect the public.

Last month, Horgan announced the government plans to increase the number of zero-emission ​ ​ vehicles (ZEVs) on its roads moving towards 2040, when all new light-duty cars and trucks sold in the province will be ZEVs. To get there, B.C. will invest in new ZEV charging stations and will increase the amount ZEV purchase rebates the province provides by $20 million.

A 10-year, $1.1 billion investment to upgrade public housing with an eye to energy efficiency ​ ​ was also announced last month, while new incentives to make efficiency retrofits more affordable for home and business owners were announced in September. ​ ​

Last week, B.C. passed Bill 56, the Oil and Gas Activities Amendment Act, which will bring the ​ ​ province’s regulation of upstream methane emissions in line with federal regulations — requiring at least a 45 per cent reduction in fugitive emissions.

The government’s commitment to partnering with B.C. businesses to “boost business investment and build a strong, identifiable low-carbon brand” for B.C. was also announced last ​ ​ week.

Affordability, accountability and capacity The Clean B.C. plan also includes $40 million in tax rebates for low and middle income families to ensure cost increases resulting from the climate action plan are offset.

“We are putting money back in people’s pockets so they can use that money to reduce their impact on the environment,” Horgan told reporters.

Reaching the 2030 emission reduction targets will result in an eight per cent increase in electrical demand, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, while further reductions could result in a 50 per cent demand increase.

“We have forecast sufficient power heading into the 2030s,” Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Michelle Mungall said. “Beyond the 2030s we have to look at what are our ​ ​ generation opportunities, how do we want to generate that, what is our capacity need around the power that we are going to require to electrify our economy even further.”

To ensure targets are met and spending is accounted for, the existing Climate Change ​ Accountability Act will be amended to require annual reporting of climate change initiative ​ spending and results. The amendments will come next year.

“Our plan will be fully funded and … will be accountable for how we spend the carbon tax money,” Environment and Climate Change Minister told reporters. “[We] will ​ ​ be accountable in each ministry about what we are spending on programs to reduce emissions.”

B.C. Liberal reaction “The NDP’s climate change plan continues to take British Columbia down a path first started by ​ the BC Liberals,” B.C. Liberal environment critic Peter Milobar said in a statement. ​ ​ ​

Milobar noted the plan does not account for the GHG growth required by B.C.’s up-and-coming LNG industry.

Clean B.C. only accounts for the first phase of LNG Canada’s proposed project, which is expected to add more than three MT of emissions to B.C.’s carbon footprint.

“Given that this plan continues to strive to meet [the B.C. Liberal’s] original dates and targets, the initiatives announced today are largely to be expected, and in the context of a climate change plan, would be considered the more straightforward elements,” Milobar said.

Milobar also pointed to the fact that the government still has to find ways to reduce emissions by a further 25 per cent, noting that the “devil is in the details.”

B.C. Green reaction Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver attended the Clean B.C. announcement and was thanked ​ ​ by Premier Horgan for his input in the emission reduction plan, which is part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the government and the Greens.

“Climate change is the most significant challenge facing humanity,” Weaver said in a statement. “Each megatonne of carbon we take out of the equation will bring us closer to limiting global warming, in turn limiting the economic damage, social upheaval and human suffering threatened by climate change.”

While Weaver welcomed the government’s commitment to transitioning to a low carbon economy, the Green leader remains concerned about the arrival of the LNG industry.

“This has been a year of hard choices for our caucus — the decision of the government to go ahead with LNG was a low point,” Weaver said. “I will always argue that the development of new large fossil fuel infrastructure is inconsistent with our commitments under the Paris Agreement.”

Weaver has previously described LNG as his party’s “line in the sand,” but said a climate action plan with sufficient and realistic reduction targets could preserve the Green-NDP alliance.

“This plan, and the preliminary work we have done on how we will achieve the remaining reductions, gives me confidence that our targets may be within reach and that they are certainly worth fighting for,” he said. “I am pleased that the plan will be backed up with funding in the next budget, and that the government has agreed to enact an accountability framework to hold the current and future governments to account.”

Today’s events

December 6 at 2 p.m. – Duncan ​

Education Minister will make an announcement about Indigenous teacher ​ ​ education at Vancouver Island University's Cowichan campus. The event will be livestreamed. ​ ​

December 6 at 2 p.m. – Victoria ​

The Legislative Assembly Management Committee is scheduled to meet in the Douglas Fir Committee Room. The committee agenda includes approval minutes from the committee’s October 30 meeting, an update from acting clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd and an overview of the ​ ​ legislative assembly’s budgeting process for the 2019-2020 year. A “personnel matter” is also scheduled to be discussed in camera.

December 6 at 4:30 p.m. – ​

The B.C. Liberal Party’s Kamloops riding associations will host a holiday social at the Shark Club with MLAs and Peter Milobar. ​ ​ ​ ​

Topics of conversation

● While speaking to the Assembly of FIrst Nations at its annual meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cautioned First Nations leaders who oppose ​ ​ ​ ​ the Trans Mountain pipeline against being too strident in their criticism of proponents of the controversial project. ○ “I would be careful about minimizing or ascribing reasons for people who take positions that disagree with you,” Trudeau said in response to a question from Neskonlith First Nation Chief Judy Wilson about how Ottawa is proceeding with ​ ​ a project that many First Nations oppose. ○ “I think there are lots of reasons, and I think we should respect people’s choices to support or not support different projects, and I don’t think we should be criticizing them, just because they disagree with you, Judy,” the prime minister said. ○ Trudeau also apologized for the failure of the Indigenous consultation process that led to his government’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which was subsequently overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal.

● In an email addressed to Kate Lloyd-Ryan, current acting clerk of the Legislative ​ ​ Assembly, Liberal Party House Leader Mary Polak asked that today’s meeting of the ​ ​ Legislative Management Committee (LAMC) not be held behind closed doors. “In light of ​ the high level of public interest in this emerging controversy, it is our expectation that the December 6 LAMC meeting be video broadcast on the Legislative Assembly television channel and be live streamed on the Legislative Assembly website, as per the practice with regard to other committees of the Legislature,” Polak wrote. ○ The Liberal house leader also suggested that LAMC “conduct an in-depth review ​ of the Legislative Assembly’s proposed 2019-20 budget” — something the Finance and Audit Committee (FAC) is supposed to conduct at a future date. ○ Polak also asked that an agenda item be added to tomorrow’s meeting to allow LAMC members to ask Speaker Darryl Plecas questions about the suspension ​ ​ of two of the legislature’s table officers on November 20. “We will not be asking ​ questions on matters related to human resources, the RCMP or the Special Prosecutors,” she wrote. ○ A “personnel matter” will be discussed in camera during the meeting, according ​ to the committee’s agenda. ​

● “There wasn’t a resounding amount of enthusiasm for carbon pricing,” Premier John ​ Horgan said of a Tuesday conference call with his counterparts from other provinces. ​ The premier referenced Saskatchewan and Ontario for their opposition to the federal carbon tax but added, “Other provinces are not skeptics, they are more enthusiastic.” ○ Horgan will be in Montreal for the December 7 First Ministers’ Meeting, where he expects carbon pricing to be a topic of discussion. ○ The premier is hopeful other provinces will take a page from B.C.’s book when it comes to climate action. “I certainly don’t look at [our plan] as a bragging rights question,” he told reporters. “I look at it as an imperative for all governments across the country and around the world.”

News briefs - Non-governmental

Office of the Auditor General The latest report from the Auditor General’s office, Independent Audit of Capital Asset ​ Management in BC Hydro, seemed serendipitous in its timing. ​

B.C. Hydro and how it runs its facilities will be crucial in the government’s ability to deliver a highly electrified province in less than 15 years.

In her report, Auditor General Carol Bellringer gave the Crown corporation and the ​ ​ management of its $25 billion in assets a glowing review.

"BC Hydro has good asset management practices as a result of a decade-long plan and associated efforts to carry out the plan, not by accident," said Bellringer. “I am pleased to say that because BC Hydro is managing its assets well, we made no recommendations in this audit.”

In its last fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2018, B.C. Hydro spent $2.5 million maintaining its assets, which include dams, generators, power lines and poles, substations and transformers.

The Auditor General’s review only covered assets that have been in service for one year.

B.C. Liberal reaction "It's almost unprecedented to see any type of audit or review produce zero recommendations," Liberal jobs and technology critic said in a statement. "The auditor general put it ​ ​ best in her report: this didn't happen by accident — it was the result of good planning under the previous B.C. Liberal government."

Kyllo noted that aging infrastructure — some of which is approaching a century of service — and the province’s increasing population will continue to add pressure to B.C. Hydro’s assets over and above the government’s plans to electrify large swathes of activity in the province.