I am writing in support of…

I am writing in support of the Cap and Trade program and carbon taxation in general. These tools are widely recognized as democratic, market-based, and most importantly EFFECTIVE tools for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Canada and consequently Ontario, must abide by the commitments we made under the Paris Accord for my children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy the Ontario I have known and loved. To fail will have catastrophic consequences for us all.

Failing threatens the lakes and forests that are such a part of the fabric of who we are. Failing threatens our homes through floods, forest fires, and wind and ice storms. It threatens our security through competition for resources, such as fresh water. It threatens our economy by locking us into a path consistent with a climate that simply no longer exists. Climate change has happened, it is happening and the economic tools of the pre-climate change era will not serve us well in the long (or even short) run.

As an Ontarian, I am writing to encourage the Government of Ontario to reconsider its position in regards to cap and trade, an important tool for climate change mitigation. I will only support a government who does so in the next provincial and federal election. Our future depends upon using all tools at our disposal and to discount this particular tool in an attempt to gain political advantage is seriously short-sighted, self-serving and, frankly, dangerous to human life and the economy of our province.

The programs supported by the cap and trade funds need more time to grow. It is easy to see how beneficial they were by the sheer volume of people scrambling to take advantage of them as it became apparent that the new Government of Ontario was likely to cancel them. If you give people the tools to make better choices for their families and the planet, they will use them.

I am one such person, I have chosen to use the EHVIP to purchase a plug-in hybrid vehicle. I would not have been able to make this choice without this incentive program, the technology simply would have been too expensive. I recognize that some industries are not able to mitigate their emissions, I am happy to use the funds they contributed through cap and trade to do this on their behalf. I am happy to see my hard earned money and the money from this program go right back into the Ontario economy through the purchase of this new vehicle. I am happy to significantly reduce my own GHG emissions on a daily basis. I was proud of Ontario for the pioneering work it was doing in this area. I am ashamed we have stepped back so far and so quickly.

I know countless others who have taken advantage of the home improvement programs associated with the cap and trade funding. I also know the programs were still gaining ground - it takes time to make a population aware of programs like these, hear about their benefit from neighbours and friends, teach them how to navigate the bureaucracy that surrounds them, and allow them the time to save to make these major purchases. With the cancelation of this program any new initiative will now have to start again. We do not have time to start again. We do not have time. We do not have time.

We do not have time for politicking - I cannot stress this enough. Mitigation must take place, and it must take place now to avoid a future rife with costly natural disasters that will threaten property and human life. To think otherwise is to be willfully blind to all the science and even more so the evidence of your own eyes. During the windstorm of the spring of 2018 homes on my street lost shingles and siding up and down the block and required costly repairs. During the hot, dry summer of 2018 forest fire activity in northern parts of our province raged - more than doubling the annual average and causing many people to have to evacuate their homes, cottages, campgrounds and causing significant damage to this beautiful area. We were lucky to have avoided loss of life this time.

Reconsider cap and trade, it is a good tool and we need all the tools at our disposal. Make these tools easy to access and use, cut the bureaucracy between the people and their ability to make change. Give Ontarians the tools to be part of a better future, they will use them, they will re-invest the money in their homes, in their cars, in their communities. Make these tools especially available to those who need them the most, people with limited income, they will be most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and least able to adapt.

Finally, the funds that have already been collected under the auspices of this program must be used for the purpose they were intended. $1B is sitting waiting for our government to show leadership on climate change, make sure your legacy is one our children and grandchildren will be able to be proud of.