I am strongly opposed to the…

I am strongly opposed to the cancellation of the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016.

Although many people in the environmental movement would agree that it doesn't go far enough (in fact many believe its targets are well below what we require at this time to turn the damage around to our climate) it is a first step in initiating positive change in this area.

Research around the world has shown positive results when using cap and trade approach in lowering the carbon emissions. The mechanism of cap and trade in 1990, as part of Canada's Clean Air Act, has resulted in lower levels of sulfur dioxide which lowered acid rain – at a fraction of the projected cost. Decades ago, sulfur dioxide pollution – mostly from coal-fired power plants – was causing acid rain and snow, killing aquatic life and forests. A debate ensued: Regulation would direct all plant owners to cut pollution by a set amount, but this method, critics argued, would be costly and ignore the needs of local plant operators.

Using a Cap and Trade process (rather than regulating all plant owners to cut pollution by a set amount under a carbon tax which would have been quite costly) required letting each company decide how to cut their overall sulfur emissions in half. Power plants that lowered their pollution more than required could sell those extra allowances to other plants. A new commodities market was born. Sulfur emissions went down faster than predicted and at one-fourth of the projected cost. Since its launch, cap and trade programs to address acid rain have been regarded widely as highly effective at solving the problem in a flexible, innovative way.

At this point in time, the world and our province is facing a crisis. Climate change is resulting in extreme weather events and both humans and animals are suffering from this. The world temperature - and water levels are rising. And things will get worse if we don't do anything to address this.

In addition to the goals the Cap and Trade program sets, the funds from the program support a number of complementary environmental initiatives such as:

- GreenON – an initiative that provided Ontarians with incentives to make our homes more energy efficient.
-Funding to help Ontario schools replace windows and take other measures to make schools more energy efficient and comfortable for students year round.
-Grants for Ontario not-for-profits to undertake climate-focused initiatives
-Funding for cycling infrastructure in communities across Ontario
-Funding to improve the energy efficiency of social housing in Ontario
-Funding to help municipalities pursue climate-friendly initiatives
-The hybrid and electric vehicle subsidy & associated funding to help Ontarians install EV charging stations at home.

If anything this program should be strengthened to ensure that Canada - and Ontario - is able to reverse the damage to our environment which is taking place right now.