I am an Ontario tax-payer,…

I am an Ontario tax-payer, proud to live and work in this province. I believe that Ontario could be on the cusp of greatness in the world, and a leader on the global stage, and I believe this can happen if we make a choice now to do something truly innovative.

The cap and trade system is such an innovation. It allowed us to drive millions of dollars towards renovations for private and public buildings, infrastructure and transit across the province. This has already had significant benefits for job creation, reducing costs for public institutions in terms of heating and cooling (thus reducing costs for taxpayers), and provided Ontario an opportunity to lead on taking action on climate change and making polluters pay. All this for essentially no cost to taxpayers, and puts the responsibility for the environmental costs with those who currently financially benefit from ignoring the damages caused by carbon emissions.

Cancelling cap and trade is going to be hugely expensive for Ontarians, puts the government at risk of being sued by companies who have spent millions, and creates distrust for those who might otherwise invest in Ontario due to its lack of policy stability.

I cannot stress enough that cap and trade should not be cancelled - you owe this to Ontario tax payers, to the economy, and to the all humans in the world who rely on a more stable climate and current ocean levels.