Ontario needs to be part of…

Ontario needs to be part of a Canada-wide clean energy, green economy and environmental bill of rights. We have relatively clean energy although we should not be refurbishing nuclear stations. Instead, we should be building links with other jurisdictions so as to trade clean, safe renewable energy (use HVDC - electricity "super highways"). The hydro link with Quebec is an obvious alternative to nuclear which should be phased out. We have to build more renewable energy plants to replace the nuclear as it is phased out.

We should be implementing a carbon tax of over $100/ton, not $50/ton sometime in the future. Oil & gas companies know that below a $100/ton doesn't make a difference to them. They have been pricing carbon for a long time now and you can even find a Harvard case study about BC's implementation of a carbon tax that discusses this carbon tax level issue. Take a look at European countries with carbon taxes such as Sweden, at almost $200/ton (Cdn). Everyone knows cap and trade is a game (a joke) that climate change deniers enjoy. They can delay real change and make a lot of money off of it in the meantime, moving carbon emissions around. No matter what policy is implemented, multiple policies are required to reach a goal such as a reduction of GHGs. Thus, one cannot say that because we have a (useless) cap and trade system, then we don't need a carbon tax. Multiple policies are required and a carbon tax is one of them along with regulation to renewables, etc.

We should be keeping all of the oil & gas in the ground, at least the majority of it that is being extracted for energy consumption (burning). We should be shutting down tar sands and other operations, off and on shore - no more pipelines - and investing in the green economy so that those people who so desperately believe they need that dirty industry, can change to the kinds of jobs that actually make a positive contribution to our society and the world. Working for oil and gas companies is a destructive undertaking and only perpetuates a world wide addition that is killing us all. It is very much like a drug addiction and the only way to stop the addition is to stop the addicts' consumption.

We need to regulate changes so that everyone's next car is either a hybrid or an EV. The taxi industry should have to switch over its vehicles as they get old and also pay for some of the charging infrastructure. They use our roads for their businesses and idle and drive around constantly. They have to pay and help Ontario switch rather than making tax payers foot the bill for them. All commercial users of our roads should have to switch to clean vehicles and help pay for the charging infrastructure - it supports their businesses.

We also have to regulate builders so that we don't use natural gas or other fossil fuels for home heating or other uses. Instead, we have to regulate that all new buildings have closed envelopes for maximum efficiency and that they only use renewable energy.

Just like we forced the change to high efficiency light bulbs, the same kind of actions need to take place in our transportation and building sectors. We have to make it required that the next vehicle is a hybrid or an EV and that our homes and other buildings are not contributing GHGs.

Also, I fully support John Tory's road tolls. We have to pay for the expansion of mass transit. Toronto and other cities like it cannot be successful mega cities without becoming "Smart Cities" and this includes integrated systems that ultimately support a circular economy supported by the respective circular/clean infrastructure (for waste, water, energy, transportation, etc.). We have to start looking at our cities as holistic ecosystems within a province that should be broadly aligned with these changes.

I also would suggest that we start regulating the reduction of waste at the source. For example, all the food and other things that we buy come in wasteful packaging and while a portion of it can be recycled, this is not the way to handle all of this garbage. The garbage should be drastically reduced. We can take our reusable containers to the grocery store and refill them. We don't need a new carton, box, etc. each time we buy the same thing. I am tired of getting home and unpacking everything that is over packaged and feeling the pang  as I throw it all away (the boxes, plastic, styrofoam, etc.)  after a one time use (whether it is recycled or not, it is so wasteful).

In addition, everything we buy should be labelled if is GMO or not. The recent salmon debacle is astounding, that we would actually allow GMO salmon to mix on our shelves with other real salmon and that consumers would not know what they are buying. The power of Monsanto and others like it, like the power of the oil and gas industry, has reached dangerous levels, putting all of our lives and future generations in danger. Our politicians should be held accountable when they engage in corruption by selling out to corporate lobbies.This has become such a regular phenomenon that no one realizes it as corruption anymore.

I am 100% for a 100% clean energy, clean transportation, clean everything in Ontario. I would like to see all of Canada go 100% clean on all dimensions. We need to go back to the Canada I remember when we respected the environment and saw ourselves as part of it, not dominant over it. Listen to the native people. They understand and I understand that I am part of the environment. I do not stand separate from it. I am one of the many beings on this earth and I do not want to take from those others who thrive on this earth. They make the world a beautiful place.

[Original Comment ID: 205476]