Cap-and-Trade, carbon-pricing have major impact on Ontario businesses, says Huron-Bruce MPP

To the Editor:

The results of the Ontario Liberal government's first Cap-and-Trade auction rolled in this week and are showing that the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party was right all along - because of the Liberals' Cap-and-Trade scheme, we are sending our hard-earned dollars to other jurisdictions, such as California.

In an open letter to Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce echoed our concerns, calling on the government to take immediate steps to publicly evaluate the cumulative impact of current and incoming policies on the competitiveness of Ontario businesses. And I agree that this needs to be done. The government should also take a look at the effect that these policies are having on the average Ontarian.

Another reality is that Canada is putting a price on carbon, the nature of which is still being negotiated with the provinces. With carbon-pricing being the new national reality, Ontario opposition leader Patrick Brown has written an open letter to prime minister Justin Trudeau, stating that Wynne's Cap-and-Trade law "does not have Ontario's best interests at heart," and requesting that Ontario Cap-and-Trade be removed from the Trudeau carbon-pricing system. I'm not holding my breath on that one, though.

The problem with the provincial Cap-and-Trade scheme and the federal price on carbon, is that going electric is neither technologically nor economically feasible for most, thanks to the Ontario Liberals' Green Energy Act. I voted against that Bill, as well as against the Cap-and-Trade legislation. The Cap-and-Trade tax system serves as a stick to try and modify behaviour without offering a viable alternative and without a carrot to reward changes made, other than using the revenue for more subsidies for such things as electric cars and Toronto transit.

As Ontario's Official Opposition, the PC Party is committed to dismantling the Cap-and-Trade system, ever bearing in mind the federal government is mandating all provinces put a price on carbon.

Jan. 1, the province capped greenhouse gas emissions and will sell allowances to companies who have to exceed the cap. The province will lower the cap over time. Companies exceeding the cap can also buy additional allowances, or if they come in below their annual limit, can sell their emission allowances to other companies within a market comprised of Ontario, Quebec and California.

It is estimated that Ontario businesses will be paying $300-million per year to California.

We maintain the government is so desperate to hike taxes, it has rejected a revenue-neutral plan. So, Cap-and-Trade money will disappear into general revenues.

Cap-and-Trade has clearly not been designed to return money to those paying. It is a blatant $2-billion-per-year tax grab under the guise of environmentalism. It will seriously impact everyone's pocket book. Oil refineries, for example, will pass their recovery costs of Cap-and-Trade to their customers at the pumps. It subtracts money from people, not only for gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas, heating oil, and aviation fuel, but also for groceries, clothing and other consumer goods produced and delivered by carbon-fueled plants, equipment and transportation.

Ontario's Auditor General reports the Cap-and-Trade tax will cost families an extra $156 this year for gasoline and natural gas, rising to $210 by 2019. Added transportation costs for goods and services, will be another $75 per household by 2019.

We are committed to dismantling the Cap-and-Trade scheme and the Green Energy Act. This is the best way to ensure people's hard-earned money stays exactly where it should stay ... in their pockets.

In conclusion, I ask you the reader: Where do we go from here? There probably won't be an election until June, 2018, and this is the time to consult on policy.

Provincially, the Ontario PC Party has committed to dismantling the Wynne Cap-and-Trade law, as well as the Green Energy Act. However, carbon-pricing is now the reality in Canada, and Ontario will be bound by the Trudeau price on carbon. 

Lisa Thompson
Huron-Bruce MPP