Carbon tax starts tomorrow. Gas to rise about 2.4 cents per litre.

Tom McMillan, June 30, 2008

Starting tomorrow, driving gets a little more expensive for Greater Victoria drivers.

The province's new carbon tax, which will raise gas prices by about 2.4 cents per litre, and booster-seat regulations both take effect July 1. Residents say the gas tax has them nervously watching their wallets.

"I'm filling up today just to avoid it," Brian Richardson said yesterday standing outside an Esso along Lansdowne Road. "How much higher can gas get until people can't afford to drive?"

The new carbon tax will apply to virtually all fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane and home-heating fuel. B.C.'s tax, the provincial government has claimed, will be the most comprehensive in the world.

As a result, prices at the pump will jump 2.41 cents per litre tomorrow. The tax will then increase each year until 2012, reaching a final increase of about 7.2 cents per litre.

To help people adjust to the cost of the new tax -- which promises to achieve about 7.5 per cent of the government's legislated reductions by 2020 -- British Columbians began receiving one-time $100 cheques last week.

The tax has been the focus of intense political debate in recent weeks, with Premier Gordon Campbell defending the policy from criticism that it is ineffective and punishes individual consumers.

Polls show most B.C. residents oppose the carbon tax, though reaction at Victoria gas stations was mixed.

"It's punishing all of us little guys instead of just the big users," said Debra Mallenby, 52, as she filled up a red Toyota Camry.

"It's a great idea," said Stephen Chong, 19, standing beside a black Pontiac Sunfire. "If we want to drive, we have to be willing to pay that price."

Changes to B.C.'s child passenger-safety regulations will also take effect tomorrow. Children who weigh 40 pounds or more -- too heavy for an infant car seat -- will now be required to use a booster seat until age nine, or until they're four feet, nine inches tall, whichever comes first.

Old regulations required children who outgrew infant car seats at 40 pounds, or around age four, to use adult seat belts, which increases the risk of an injury, said Todd Sorokan, president of the B.C. Pediatric Society.

ICBC accident statistics for 2004, the most recent year available, show that 72.5 per cent of the 376 children injured in crashes were wearing either an adult belt or no belt at all. Under the new regulations, parents caught not using required booster seats, which cost between $30 and $150, face a $109 ticket.

"We've been pushing for this for a long time," Sorokan said.

tmcmillan@tc.canwest.com