The cancellation of cap and…

The cancellation of cap and trade is going to open up Ontario to lawsuits by companies that have purchased credits under this regime in good faith that will ultimately have to be challenged or settled and in both cases are going to cost the tax payer money. Money that this government did not account for in their financial projections outlined during the election thus making the entire cancellation of cap and trade and the GreenON program disingenuous.

Furthermore, by not having a climate action plan in place and proceeding with the cancellation of the cap and trade and GreenON programs, this government is setting Ontario up to be a policy laggard on the international stage. Jurisdictions such as Chile, California and Iceland have all proven that policy investments in renewables not only jump start the switch to cleaner technology without a negative impact on job creation - but the generation of electricity by renewables has actually become cheaper in these jurisdictions than traditional sources of energy - and certainly much more sustainable over the long-term.

Lastly, with the federal climate action plan in place, Ontarians will one way or another, be paying some form of carbon tax. This government has merely slowed down the inevitable. And by challenging Ottawa - not only will Ontarians be funding the court fight on the Ontario government side, they will also be financing the court fight on the Canadian government side. This isn't leadership. It's petty and it's short-sighted.

The short term thinking of this government is setting Ontario up to be an economic and environmental laggard at a time when we could be positioned to be a leader. In fact, we were positioned to lead. Frankly this is a major policy step backwards.