B.C. Green Party leader loves flaunting his expensive eco-friendly lifestyle

Though Kermit was speaking from his own experience, I’d hazard a guess that our favourite Muppet never joined the Muppets over at the Green Party of Canada.

This leads us to our favourite B.C. Green MLA, Andrew Weaver. Weaver, who leads the B.C. Greens, has shown in the past that he’s prone to some outbursts, as he’s not known to be particularly soft spoken.

That’s why it doesn’t surprise many that he’d be up at night tweeting about how incredibly eco-friendly he is.

“Today our household completed our journey to carbon neutrality,” bragged Weaver in his 43 word boast, “All transportation done with EVs (Hyundai Kona + Nissan Leaf). All heating through electricity. BBQ & back up now 100% renewable Fortis CH4. Looking forward to Zeroing out carbon tax on my tiny gas bill now!”

Though going green and thinking about the environment is nothing to be ashamed of, it does show just how out-of-touch some elected officials can be. Weaver is a well educated man with degrees from both the University of B.C. as well as Cambridge, arguably the world’s most prestigious school, but even those degrees don’t help him see that being eco-friendly is not on the top of the to-do list for lower income Canadians.

Weaver—who is now the MLA of Oak Bay-Beaver Head—gives himself a nice pat on the back for owning not one, but two eco-friendly vehicles; the Hyundai Kona, and the Nissan Leaf.

A Nissan Leaf in Canada would run you about $42,298 CAD. The Nissan Kona would tack on another $21,000 CAD. Those two figures combined are comparable to the average annual income of the average Canadian family, at $71,011.

This wouldn’t be a worry for Andrew Weaver, though, who is racking in the people’s money, earning over $105,000 annually from his gig as an MLA alone.

Weaver is seemingly tone-deaf, and that is no understatement. He has frequently made comments about going green that are—at best—ignorant. A tweet from earlier this year argued that Canadians could purchase “a used 2015 Nissan Leaf” for $15,000, stating that “you’ll pay nothing for maintenance and gas.”

Canadians were quick to point out Weaver’s dishonesty. When it comes to the 2011 to 2015 Nissan Leaf, replacing the battery would cost you a hefty $5,499, plus installation.

Not just that, but Weaver seems to completely ignore the environmental impacts that the rise of electric cars is causing. Your typical AA battery is already considered by environmentalists as being problematic. How about a half-tonne lithium ion battery that needs to be replaced every 6-8 years?

He also seems to believe that many Canadians could afford to pay an extra $317 a month, which is laughable considering that half of Canadians are $200 or less away from financial insolvency.

Don’t have that kind of money? Weaver has an answer for that, too! If you haven’t the cash for an electric car, Weaver has previously suggested that Canadians take out loans to buy green vehicles.

For Weaver, this was a great day. He’s now looking forward to “zeroing out” the carbon tax on his already tiny gas bill. It must be nice to be able to afford smaller gas bills.