To whom it may concern, I…

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To whom it may concern,

I am a resident of Toronto and have lived in Ontario my whole life. I am writing today because I am deeply troubled by the new provincial government's approach to the environment and their apparent disregard for any ecologically progressive policy. The cancellation of the cap and trade program, and specifically the electric vehicle rebate was a huge step backward in my opinion. I know many people (my father included) who were going to buy their first electric car through the plan and now simply cannot afford it. By scrapping the program with no suitable alternative or replacement, Premier Ford and his party have dealt the environment a crushing blow, taking our province into the past rather than moving us into the future with a modern, sensible plan. By not consulting the public before making this decision, they also violated the Environmental Bill of Rights which entitles residents to offer their opinion on significant policies such as this.

With the planet in the fragile state that it's in and getting worse every day, it is our government's responsibility to be proactive. I find it sad and disheartening that these destructive steps with long-term repercussions are being taken in the name of saving a few bucks in the short term. It is clear that this party is bent on gaining political points under the guise of appealing to struggling Ontarians, while in fact they are basically giving a license to all polluters to destroy our province, country, and planet. Their opposition to the carbon tax indicates they are catering to large companies (who are the largest contributors to pollution).
It is simply unacceptable in 2018 to view the environment as being anything less than a critical issue which will deeply affect us and all future generations. I think there are millions of people in this province who feel very strongly about this issue, and I implore the government to take heed. It is possible to make policies that are both environmentally AND economically sound, and the people of Ontario should not settle for anything less.