The Conservative government…

The Conservative government under Premier Ford is missing the chance to play heroes.

A Feb. 10, 2018 poll said two-thirds of Conservative supporters say serious action on climate change is needed. MPP Ted Arnott, now the Speaker of the Legislature and former PC critic for the Environment and Climate Change, said in a speech to the Legislature in Dec. 2017 “doing nothing is not an option” and “We say that every dollar collected in carbon price revenue should be returned to Ontario families and taxpayers in the form of corresponding tax relief, as verified by the Auditor General.”

Premier Ford wants to get rid of Cap and Trade, but the government lacks a taxpayer friendly plan to address climate change.

Canadians pay $3.6 billion annually ($600 million in Ontario) in subsidies to the oil and gas industries, plus $36 billion annually for increased health care costs of breathing smog from burning fossil fuels, plus $1.2 billion yearly for damage from extreme weather events while also losing $80 billion yearly from pine beetle destruction of Canadian forests. Here is one of numerous reports available showing many more costs: (see 1st link)

Regulations, subsidies, free allocations, exemptions etc. cost all of us a lot more money. A recent article in the National Post by Andrew Coyne confirms this assertion. (see 2nd link)

A letter from Smart Prosperity, endorsed by over 60 groups, including the Oil and Gas (Suncor, Shell, Syncrude), Mining, Cement, Forestry, Aluminum, Manufacturing, Banking and Insurance sectors, stated: "Putting a price on carbon, to reflect the real environmental costs, is the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions, stimulate innovation and drive energy efficiency. Co-ordinated Canada-wide carbon pricing, rising predictably over time, can do much of the heavy lifting towards meeting our climate targets.

In the USA, Shell Oil, General Motors and other big corporations are the founding corporate members of the Climate Leadership Council. They are a policy institute that is actively lobbying Congress in the USA to pass carbon fee and dividend legislation. A June 2018 study (see 3rd link) found that their Carbon Dividends Plan (see 4th link) would achieve more than triple the emissions reductions of all Obama-era climate regulations, and could exceed the high end of the U.S. Paris Commitment. The Carbon Dividends Plan also has a well-funded political action committee. (see 5th link)

We should all want the cheapest option, as well as openness and honesty, about the costs. That can be achieved by putting an upstream fee on carbon pollution and returning 100% of the revenue back to the people, which would significantly reduce the tax burden for most Ontarians - a.k.a. carbon fee and dividend.

Citizens Climate Lobby has been promoting Carbon Fee and Dividend (CF&D) to our politicians for the past 8 years as the most efficient, transparent and cost effective means of solving this existential problem, while helping everyone transition to a low carbon economy. In Canada, carbon fee and dividend is also championed by Clean Prosperity (see 6th link) and has been endorsed by the PostMedia Editorial board in September 2017 in their syndicated editorial “Here’s how to make carbon pricing honest”.

The EcoFiscal Commission also agrees with us. Their studies show carbon pricing is the most effective way to change behaviour, at the least cost to everyone. (see 7th link)

And the most effective carbon pricing is revenue-neutral with the money going back to the people to allow them to decide how to cut their carbon footprint. True market forces at work. Carbon fee and dividend will achieve that goal. Conservatives say they want to put money back into people’s pockets. They now have a golden opportunity to do that.

In September 2018, Clean Prosperity released a study that found the vast majority of Ontarians would come ahead under a carbon fee and dividend policy. (see 8th link)

The Honourable Michael Chong’s carbon fee and dividend like plan during the Conservative leadership campaign, it is worth recalling, would have slashed virtually everyone’s tax rate to 15 per cent, except for a 29-percent top rate. MP Chong designed a very fiscally responsible and detailed plan to overhaul the tax system and lower taxes for things we want (income) while taxing things we don’t want (carbon pollution).

Premier Ford - please use Carbon Fee and Dividend as the most transparent, cost effective, efficient and socially responsible plan to meet our Paris commitments. It is the ideal Conservative policy.