Climate change is happening…

Climate change is happening. The science is real, and well-supported. There are stories in the news every day that highlight the effects of climate change - severe storms, flooding, melting ice caps. As I write this comment, we are experiencing record high October temperatures. Three days ago, the IPCC released a report saying that we have as little as 12 years to limit global temperature increases before we start seeing even more severe impacts. As the parent of a 2 year old, this terrifies me. If we don't do something now, my child will barely be a teenager when the world as we know it starts changing.

Repealing the cap and trade program is a waste of time - time we don't have. The cap and trade program was already in place, and it was working. Now we have no climate change plan, and while we wait for this process to be played out and wait for a new plan to be developed and put in place the impacts of climate change continue to grow.

Repealing the cap and trade program is a waste of money. The money involved with compensating those who had already bought into the program. The money involved with lawsuits the government is already facing and those that have yet to be launched. The loss of billions that cap and trade brought to Ontario's economy. And the personal losses to business and individuals due to flooding and other climate change impacts. For a government that is concerned with fiscal responsibility, repealing the cap and trade program is highly fiscally irresponsible.

If this government can put aside its differences with the previous government, we can work to mitigate the effects of climate change and safeguard the future of Ontarians.