Ontario Stands Up For Patients by Opposing Costly Federal Carbon Tax on Hospitals

Minister Rod Phillips — Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Costs to Ontario Institutions Increasing with Federal Carbon Tax in Effect April 1

MILTON — Ontario’s government is working for the people to strengthen and protect health care and stand up for patients by fighting against increased costs to public institutions caused by the burdensome federal carbon tax.

This is day three since the federal government imposed its carbon tax and the financial burden is already making an impact on hospitals across the province. The federal government’s carbon tax will impact Ontario’s hospitals by increasing annual heating costs by $10.9 million in 2019, soaring to $27.2 million in 2022.

Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, were at Halton Healthcare – Milton District Hospital today to talk about how the federal government’s carbon tax will impact local hospitals by increasing heating costs.

“We know that the federal carbon tax will increase the cost to heat your home, fuel your car and feed your family,” said Minister Phillips. “More than this, the carbon tax will also have an effect on the institutions that provide essential and life-saving services to the people of Ontario including hospitals.”

For $27.2 million, Ontario could offer an additional 104,615 MRI operating hours providing scans for an additional 157,000 patients. This amount of money could also fund over 3,300 pacemaker implantations.

“The federal carbon tax will increase operation costs for hospitals in Ontario,” said Elliott. “Hospitals should be able to focus their resources on providing the quality, patient-centred care that Ontarians expect and deserve, and not have to deal with unnecessary rising operational costs. Our government is committed to ensuring money is being directed to front-line services – where it belongs – to improve patient experience, and provide better and connected care.”

The Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan considers our province’s specific priorities, challenges and opportunities, and commits to reducing our emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, a target that aligns with the Federal Government’s Paris commitments, without imposing a carbon tax on the vulnerable groups in our province. Through the efforts of individuals and industry, Ontario is already most of the way to this target, with the province’s emissions down 22 per cent since 2005.

“Our plan serves as proof that you can both oppose a carbon tax and continue to do more to fight climate change – you don’t have to choose,” concluded Minister Phillips. “Ontario deserves both a healthy environment and a healthy economy.”

The government remains committed to fighting the federal government’s plan to impose a carbon tax on the people of Ontario.

Quick Facts

Starting January 1, 2019, the federal government’s output-based pricing system for large emitters came into force.
The federal carbon tax will cost a typical household $258/year in 2019 and will rise to $648 by 2022.
The federal carbon tax on fuels came into effect on April 1, 2019. It will increase the price of gasoline in Ontario by 4.4 cents per litre. This will rise to 6.6 cents in 2020, 8.8 cents in 2021, and 11.1 cents per litre in April 2022.
The federal carbon tax will increase the price of natural gas in Ontario by 3.9 cents per cubic metre. This increase will rise to 5.9 cents in 2020, 7.8 cents in 2021, and 9.8 cents per cubic metre in April 2022.
The federal carbon tax will increase the price of diesel by 5.4 cents per litre in 2019, rising to 13.4 cents by 2022.
Ontario is part of a coalition of provinces pledged to fight the federal government’s unconstitutional carbon tax. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have joined Ontario’s challenge to the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which is an unconstitutional, disguised tax. Ontario’s case challenging the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax will be heard by the Court of Appeal from April 15 to 18, 2019.
As outlined in Ontario’s environment plan, the province is committed to meeting its share of Canada’s 2030 target while recognizing the unique circumstances of our economy. From 2005 to 2016, Ontario reduced its emissions by about 22 per cent.
The Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan commits to reducing our province’s emissions output to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 without imposing a carbon tax.
In a survey of business owners in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 87 per cent opposed this federal carbon tax plan.