On Canada Day, July 1, 2008, the province of British Columbia became the first major jurisdiction in North America to introduce a consumer-based carbon tax system. Has there been any negative fallout? Surprisingly yes, and healthcare is where it's at.
Many believe that the implementation of a carbon tax by a government on its citizens is undertaken with the intention of improving the health of its citizens and its role in the world as a good environmental citizen by cleaning up the environment.
However, in
British Columbia it appears that the health of its citizens will be negatively impacted by the introduction last year of a carbon tax.
It is being reported that healthcare facilities in the Lower Mainlands will have to pay out over $4 million in carbon taxes to offset their carbon footprint, making the current crisis in healthcare funding even worse.
The costs for this year are large and they are slated to increase even more in the coming years. British Columbia's healthcare system is stretched to the limit, with some hospitals facing huge budget deficits (one is estimating a $100 million deficit). Cuts to patient services are not high on the list of priorities for hospitals to bring their budgets in line, but they are not being ruled out.
For instance, the possibility of closing the ER at the Mission Memorial Hospital is being floated. NDP Health Critic Adrian Dix believes that this action runs counter to the stated objectives of the carbon tax plan (ie, reducing carbon emissions) by forcing patients and medical personnel to travel further, thereby increasing the amount of carbon they use just to get the patients and personnel to and from the next nearest ER.
Obviously when you shut down regional centres it makes people travel farther to get to their health care facility.
Dix also told the
Surrey Leader:
You have public hospitals cutting services to pay a tax that goes to another 100 per cent government-owned agency. That just doesn't make sense.
Healthcare in British Columbia accounted for over one third of the provinces spending in its 37.7 billion dollar budget.
