The B.C. Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says there’s a couple glaring parts of the 2019 provincial budget that was rolled out today.

Kris Sims says one of those is spending $902 million dollars on the CleanBC program. Those funds will cover costs of rebates and incentives for the program.

“And if you read into the details, they’re actually encouraging people to turn their backs on something as normal and common as natural gas furnaces and install electric gas pumps instead,” Sims says.

“Number one, that’s expensive. Number two, electric heat pumps generally are for the shoulder seasons, of fall and spring. They’re not great in deep winter and the middle of January, you’re still going to need something like a natural gas-powered furnace. And for them to be trying to entice you with your own money, we find that’s a major problem.

“While we understand the need for efficiency, the idea that you’re trying to entice taxpayers with their own money to make decisions as fundamental as how they heat their homes is really problematic.”

Sims also says the worsening debt load at ICBC will be a headache for the province to stay ahead of.