Comment
I read a couple dozen articles and reports, including the one by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario trying to find a ligitimate explanation of WHY would anybody try to scrap a program that brings money into the budget AND preserves our environment. And I failed to find any logical explanation...
Please explain how these items be dealt with:
- How will the new pollution reduction targets and/or environmental plan be enforced if there's no monetary penalties/incentives for the industry?
- Why is the government putting forward a bill that directly violates [the EBR] and my citizen rights for clean water, air and livable planet for my grandkids?
- Where will the funding come from to cover the annual lost revenue from cap-and-trade (2.9 billion), reimbursements to cap-and-trade participants (5 billion), lost investment from the Federal government ($420 million earmarked for Ontario under the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund ), cost of litigation with the Federal government in order to prevent rolling out the Federal carbon tax program (PC party themselves budgeted 50M for that), costs of other lawsuits (unknown).
- Where can I see the cost analysis of scrapping the cap-and-trade? Without it I feel like the government is just too careless with my money and the power we bestowed upon our civic leaders
- Why would one abolish existing GHG reduction targets BEFORE coming up with the new ones?
- Where will the province find money for energy retrofits, school renovations, sustainable infrastructure and other programs, all of which are a prudent and necessary investment which makes good financial and common sense?
- What happens if Ontario can't fight the Federal carbon tax roll-out in court as Mr. Ford suggests? (We will just get back to square one with higher gas prices, but we will have wasted millions and billions of taxpayers money by then.) Who will hold responsibility for these costs?
And the big question: WHY do we need to lower the gas prices in the first place?!
- Because the people voted for it? Yes, but the people weren't told how much these meager savings will cost them on the back end. Is it fair to promote the upside of an initiative without disclosing the consequences?
- Cap-and-trade "punished" big industry - how's scrapping it is a good move for the people?
- Where can I see the cost/benefit analysis of achieving the goal of "10c per liter reduction"? Lower gas prices increase congestion, support suburban sprawl, discourage industry innovation and public transport improvements, it increases pollution and lowers quality of life (which has a monetary value as well). How is this a good idea from strategic point?
Disclaimer: I'm not liberal OR conservative, so I have no prejudices against Doug Ford or PCs - I just care about my Province, Country and my grandkids, who are to pay for this short-sighted bill.
Honestly, it all just sounds like giving uneducated masses a simple promise they can understand: "we'll lower the gas prices". And now trying to deliver on that election promise at the expense of these uneducated masses. I honestly feel like I'm wasting my time trying to explain the obvious. For actions like this polititians should go to prison.
Submitted October 11, 2018 3:16 PM
Comment on
Bill 4, Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018
ERO number
013-3738
Comment ID
9814
Commenting on behalf of
Comment status