Hello. I am a parent,…

Hello. I am a parent, homeowner, and proud resident of Ontario. I strongly disagree with the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018.

I believe that a cap and trade system is good for Ontario and good for the planet. Market-based solutions to climate change create incentives for innovative and vibrant businesses. Ontario has the resources, population, geography, and skills to be a leader in climate change-mitigation technology; now it's up to government to provide the right business and regulatory environment.

Partisan arguments that the cap and trade system is too expensive are short-sighted and offensive. Does the government of the day really believe that Ontarians are too timid to build ourselves a better future? Or that we are incapable of meeting a challenge?

Technical arguments that the cap and trade system contained within the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016 is so flawed as to merit cancellation are similarly uncompelling. No government program can be perfect in its first iteration; that is why we try things, evaluate, and improve. The damage created by legislative uncertainty is far more serious than any carbon mispricing could ever be.

The increase in my family's energy bill caused by the cap and trade system is not negligible. We had to evaluate our budget and see where we could shift our spending. But it is worth it because it contributes to a better future for our children and connects us to the community of humans working to safeguard our planet. Cancelling the cap and trade system and saying it is for "the people of Ontario" assumes that every one of us has such a degree of individual selfishness and greed that we would burn tomorrow for today's convenience. I simply cannot agree with this premise.