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Under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals, you are paying more and getting less. Not on my watch. I am going to scrap the carbon tax and Wynne’s Cap and Trade slush fund. Instead, the only cap and trade you’re going to see is that we’re going to cap taxes and trade Kathleen Wynne. pic.twitter.com/QcrdWSoaPg — Doug Ford (@fordnation) April 23, 2018

Environment and Climate Change Minister Chris Ballard predicted such a move would actually drive up gasoline costs.

“What’s going to happen will be the fall back to the federal carbon tax that’s been shown to cost more at the pumps,” Ballard said. “Our cap-and-trade system that we’ve had in place for the past year is the best way to drive down emissions at the least cost price to Ontario public and business.”

The federal government has mandated that provinces adopt some form of carbon pricing such as cap-and-trade or Ottawa has threatened to implement one on their behalf.

Ford said he would fight Prime Minister Justin Trudeau all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to keep carbon taxes out of Ontario.

“Here at the pump, on your home heating bills, Kathleen Wynne calls it cap-and-trade, Justin Trudeau calls it the carbon tax,” Ford said. “B.C. was the first province to impose this tax and what happened there … gas prices jumped up (to) $1.50.

“Kathleen Wynne will have (her) hand in your pocket every time you fill up at the pump,” he added.

Ballard said Ontario has received independent legal advice that $2.4 billion in cap-and-trade allowances would have to be returned to the industries that bought them if the program were scrapped.

“So it’s going to be very expensive for Ontario,” he said.

aartuso@postmedia.com