The Climate Change…

The Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act, 2016 should not be repealed. It is central to Ontario’s sustainable future and is only the first step in making policy changes to address the already present threats of climate change. Ontario needs a price on pollution so that tax payers are not forced to carry the burdens of uncontrolled polluters in the future. Why would my family have to pay for the inevitable fallout of C02 emissions of a manufacturer, such increased health care spending and water treatment, because the company didn’t want to pay for what they were causing? Businesses should not get a free pass to treat our resources in any way they wish, the services that the ecosystem provides have tangible value and you are completely overlooking this when you take away our cap-and-trade system.

The current financial benefits of the cap-and-trade program are supporting crucial community programs that are otherwise being cut. From the last few years we can see that communities are benefiting from the programs, specifically children, it seems irresponsible to take them away when there is no evidence to back up the change.

Cap-and-trade relies on free market thinking and require that companies innovate to reduce their emissions. This creates an economy where not only are people healthier from the reduction in emissions but companies are incentivised to discover revolutionary solutions to global problems. Innovative thinking is something that Ontario desperately needs, we need to provide high skilled jobs so that young people are not recruited to places like Silicon Valley where thinking differently is rewarded.

Overall, the cap-and-trade system is as easy as the name suggests: cap pollutants, trade allowances with supply and demand setting the price. A straight forward, logical, and financial responsible choice for a sustainable province.