Decision to end program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions puts Ontario in line for showdown with federal government

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Ontario’s new rightwing government has ended a carbon pricing policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Canada’s most populous province.

The move to scrap the cap-and-trade program puts the provincial Conservative government – led by Doug Ford – directly at odds with the federal government’s bid to ensure provinces have a price on carbon in place by the end of 2018.

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Days after he was sworn in as premier, Ford – the brother of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford – expressed his opposition to the idea. “Cap-and-trade and carbon tax schemes are no more than government cash grabs that do nothing for the environment, while hitting people in the wallet in order to fund big government programs,” Ford said in a statement.

Ending the program will help Ford deliver on a campaign promise to reduce gasoline prices by 10 cents per litre. “Cancelling the cap-and-trade carbon tax will result in lower prices at the gas pump, on your home heating bills and on virtually every other product that you buy,” Ford added.

In the leadup to last month’s Ontario election, Ford – who has elicited comparisons to Donald Trump – explained in a televised debate that while he believed in man-made global warming, he does not believe in “putting an artificial tax called the carbon tax, the cap-and-trade, that does absolutely nothing to help the environment”.

He continued: “The carbon tax is the single worst tax anyone – not just in Ontario – Canada could ever have.”

In place since 2017, the policy limits greenhouse gas emissions for large companies, allowing those who are below or above the threshold to sell, buy or trade credits in a carbon market that includes Quebec and California.

The decision to end the program puts Ontario, home to a third of Canada’s population and the country’s economic engine, in line for a climate showdown with the federal government, led by Justin Trudeau.

Shortly after Ford’s election, Canada’s minister of environment and climate change, Catherine McKenna, said in a statement that her government would consider imposing carbon pricing on the province if Ford carried through on his promise to scrap cap-and-trade.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the minister said work would continue to tackle climate change. “By cancelling Ontario’s cap-and-trade plan, the premier is making it clear that he is not interested in taking climate action, and is effectively withdrawing from Canada’s national climate change plan.”

Ford’s government has earmarked C$30m to fight Ottawa in court over the issue.

The move could prove to be a costly one for the new Conservative government, said Keith Brooks of Environmental Defence. The economic impact will be felt across sectors as the program helped fuel demand for energy efficiency and propel Ontario’s clean tech sector into the largest and fastest-growing in the country.



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There’s also the question of the more than C$2.8bn in permits bought by Ontario businesses through the program – an issue the Ford government has yet to address. “The Ontario government will need to find billions of dollars to buy back those permits, or risk being sued,” said Brooks.

Mike Schreiner – who made history last month after he was elected as Ontario’s first provincial parliamentarian from the Green party – slammed the government’s decision, calling it “reckless and irresponsible”, in a statement.

“Ontario can address the climate crisis in a way that creates jobs, benefits our economy and leaves a livable planet for our kids and grandkids,” he added. “Instead, Premier Ford is gambling with our future.”