As a citizen of Ontario, who…

As a citizen of Ontario, who cares deeply about our environment, I am urging the government to let the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016 stand as it is and to Not repeal it. Climate change is real. It is not a belief system, it is a fact, supported by a large body of evidence. While climate has changed previously over the geological history of our planet, the salient point about current climate change is the highly accelerated rate of change that has been brought about by human activity. Our climate is changing so rapidly that species and ecosystems will not have adequate time to adapt with consequent environmental catastrophe. Whether the Ford government chooses to ignore the fact of climate change or not, it is unconscionable for us as global citizens to continuous to spew carbon into the atmosphere in the same manner that people throw trash out their window.
The very recent report from the IPCC shows that there is no time to waste in cutting back drastically on our carbon emissions. We need a fundamental change in how we deal with carbon pollution and we need to change immediately. The provincial cap and trade program was one of those fundamental ways. We need this program to continue and we need it now. We do not have time to play politics and posture. We have a program to reduce emissions in cap and trade and we don’t need another one. We don’t need to reconsider or study more. We urgently need to get on with the business of addressing, mitigating and adapting to climate change. We need a program like cap and trade where citizens and businesses can participate and do their part. Cap and trade allowed important emission reduction actions and projects to be funded. If this Act is repealed those actions will no longer be funded and if they are funded they will not be generating environmental benefits to Ontarians. The IPCC report emphasizes that we need to quickly move away from a carbon based energy economy and we need to move toward being carbon neutral. The proceeds from the cap and trade program funded green energy initiatives. The Ford government has been misleading the public by referring to cap and trade as a “tax”. This is incorrect and I object to this kind of calculated misinformation.
There are economic costs and public health costs to delaying an Ontario climate action plan. We can’t waste any more time. We have a emissions reduction program in place so let’s use it. Can we really contemplate admitting to our children that instead of taking action on emissions reduction we goofed around, played political games, grandstanded, procrastinated and spent our time harassing past political opponents instead of tackling the difficult work of climate change mitigation. Ontario has an opportunity to be a leader in climate change mitigation, to be forward-thinking and to be an innovator. This can happen if we keep the cap and trade program intact and forge ahead wisely and bravely. To repeal the Act and to get rid of cap and trade would be shameful. We would be nothing more than a follower.