"A number of authors have…

"A number of authors have wisely made this point: "Stable rules that are not changed retroactively are a necessary condition in order to provide an appropriate risk-adjusted return to induce private captial to flow to low-carbon investments." Similarly, "The government must convince firms that it will not renege on its promises once investment costs are sunk." (Stern, 2015)

Also: "Major investment in the low-carbon economy on the scale required is unlikely to materialize if there is a perceived risk of policy U-turns" (Stern, 2015)

If we want to do anything about climate change, we need a credible climate policy. Cancelling cap-and-trade is a HUGE policy U-turn. It makes all future climate investments in Ontario MUCH riskier for investors. It sends the message to citizens and potential investors that the Ontario government is NOT serious about climate change. Climate change is real and we need to do something about it NOW. The recent IPCC report has come out saying that it will only be possible to keep keep global warming at 1.5*C, if we take immediate, unprecedented, concrete action. That is exactly the opposite of cancelling an ALREADY ESTABLISHED climate change mitigation program.

Cap-and-Trade is a conservative, market-based proposal to address climate change. It is the least a government can do to address climate change (short of not doing anything at all). If our conservative government is not even willing to stick by this ALREADY ESTABLISHED, effective policy, in the face of potential immediate backlash (from angry investors, citizens) and future backlash (from not having addressed climate change in time), then they're telling us is that they don't believe climate change is a real issue. That is not a government that represents me, my family, my friends, my colleagues or my province.

Please. Please don't cancel cap and trade. Please do something about climate change. Please.