I am expressing concern for…

I am expressing concern for cancellation of the carbon tax, Bill 4 on behalf of my three sons, my extended family, and my friends, all of whom live in many municipalities throughout Ontario. From the first announcement of Ontario's intention to withdraw from the cap and trade program my heart sunk.

Thousands of experts around the world have been warning us of the accelerated global warming which is causing environmental catastrophe and which trend requires urgent action of political leaders on every continent. We must put aside partisan politics, in our province, in our country, throughout the world.

There were so many initiatives in place for Ontarians to prepare for the program. Households and businesses have been rising to the challenge to lower their carbon footprint. With the government's help people were making small and larger changes, and feeling good about it. There is so much more that we could be doing. Ontarians should be leading the way.

Ontarians cannot pretend this doesn’t matter — and certainly we cannot pretend that changing energy consumption habits, among other things, isn’t worth doing. Everything matters when it comes to looking forward.

I have three sons, two in high school and one a university graduate. I would like to think that they have a bright future. I know that it is a precarious one at the rate that so many things are changing, however I have raised them to be resilient and responsible.

Ontario is a province rich in resources and resourcefulness. We should be leading other provinces in energy transformation, as well as other initiatives that will give our environment a big break and give life in our cities, towns and farms the chance to survive the various possibilities that are ahead of us.

The danger is real, so let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, okay? We need to reduce our carbon footprint as a province. We need to help eachother, individuals and families, small businesses and large achieve serious reduction targets.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Bill 4.