I urge the government to…

I urge the government to reinstate the cap and trade program and to stop this assault on environmental protections. The current government has wrongly labelled the program a carbon tax and is working against the best interests of all Ontarians and future generations around the world.

By allying ourselves with California and Quebec to trade credits as we had, Ontarians would benefit from a wide and competitive market to let our businesses excel at innovating for a better future. Putting a price on carbon is a necessary step to reducing our emissions. Without measuring a pricing it, it will not change. This program allowed the government to fund various incentives to help Ontario change into a climate leader and provide a boost to help our businesses and workers transform into greener high-tech industries. This will lead to better jobs and higher efficiency which will in the long term benefit workers, business and families Without this, there is no economic incentive to reduce emissions. The government's current plan is not a plan and the this flip-flopping adds to uncertainty for many businesses who would otherwise be interested in investing in Ontario. Such decisions send the signal that the Ontario government is not serious about providing a competitive, aggressive and stable playing field to allow businesses to innovate and invest without having the rug pulled out from under them at the premier's whim.

If the premier is serious about his commitment to the environment and truly concerned about the pocketbooks of the average Ontarian, the program should be reinstated and any revenues should be directly sent back as a tax rebate to every citizen to spend as they need.

The government has taken a functional, working plan and model and replaced it with nothing. This act must be scrapped for the sake of our air, our environment, our economy and our future.