British Columbia residents will pay more in the coming year for health care, electricity, car insurance and gasoline.
Critics say the increases don’t always make sense, particularly when they hit lower-income residents at the same rates as richer citizens, while the provincial government maintains British Columbians pay some of the lowest taxes in Canada.
The first provincial increase comes into effect on Jan. 1, when health-care premiums rise by six per cent, or $84 a year for families of two or more.
It’s the third year in a row that fees have increased, bringing the total premium for families to $128 per month. The family health-care premium was $108 per month for most of the 2000s until increases began in 2010.
A month later, the Crown-owned Insurance Corp. of B.C., which has a monopoly on auto insurance in the province, will increase its rates.
In February, basic premiums will jump by $68 a year — 11.2 per cent — for the average customer, but when combined with cuts to optional rates, ICBC says the average customer will be out an extra $27.
BC Hydro is set to increase its rates by 3.9 per cent as of April 1, which the Crown corporation says will cause the average residential power bill to increase by about $36 a year. That’s about half what BC Hydro had proposed earlier this year until the provincial government ordered the corporation to come up with a smaller increase.
In July, the province’s carbon tax will increase to $30 per tonne. The tax on gasoline will hit 6.67 cents per litre, up from the current tax of 5.56 cents.
Drivers in the Vancouver area will pay even more after local mayors voted to impose a two-cent gas tax beginning this spring to pay for a rapid transit line that will link Vancouver with Coquitlam and Port Moody.
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As if living in B.C wasn’t already expensive..
