Changes Will Save Families Money; Reduce Gas Prices
Today, Ontario’s Government for the People delivered on a promise to make life more affordable for families through the passage of Bill 4, The Cap and Trade Cancellation Act.
The elimination of the cap and trade carbon tax will reduce gas prices, save the average family $260 per year, and remove a costly burden from Ontario businesses, allowing them to grow, create jobs and compete around the world.
“While today marks an important milestone for Ontario, just last week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intentions to impose a punishing, job-killing new carbon tax on the people of Ontario,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Our government is part of a growing coalition of other provinces across Canada that oppose and will ultimately repeal the federal carbon tax, which does nothing to reduce Canadian greenhouse gas emissions while raising the cost of essentials like home heating and gasoline.”
Ontario remains committed to using every available tool to challenge the federal government’s ability to impose an unconstitutional, punishing new carbon tax on families and businesses.
“Our commitment to the people of Ontario was to put more money back in their pockets, to make life more affordable and to protect and create jobs,” said Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “Promise made, promise kept. Ontario’s cap and trade carbon tax era is officially over.”
To highlight the benefits of this legislation, Minister Phillips joined some of the many Ontarians who felt the impact of the cap and trade carbon tax, including representatives from the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and member companies.
Later this fall, Ontario will release a comprehensive, made-in-Ontario environment plan to help protect and conserve our air, land and water, address urban litter and waste, increase our resilience to climate change and help all of us do our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Quotes
“Making diesel more expensive through carbon pricing does not educate a fleet on the need to conserve fuel, nor does it incentivize it to switch from a diesel engine, since there are no viable technological alternatives. Bill 4, which reduces this price escalation through the elimination of the carbon pricing tax system, is a welcome relief to the Ontario Trucking Association and its members.”
Stephen Laskowski
“We would like to thank the current government for recognizing the impacts of Ontario’s cap and trade program on businesses and consumers across the province. While we all strive to protect the environment for generations to come, the tools to achieve this must be equitable and transparent, and must not sacrifice economic growth with unintended consequences. Nor should they sacrifice our ability as a province to provide safe, healthy food at a cost that is accessible to all our citizens.”
George Gilvesy
“(We) support the Ontario government’s decision to end the ineffective and job-killing tax called cap and trade through Bill 4. This was just one of the previous government initiatives that did absolutely nothing to impact the environment but only served to stifle growth in Ontario and send jobs south of the border.”
Jocelyn Bamford
“We are thrilled that the government is ending cap and trade, a decision that is going to save taxpayers $7.2 billion over four years. Cap and trade was a tax on the necessities of life – a tax on driving to work, picking your kids up from school and heating your home in winter. It was a tax that was doing nothing for the environment, but was funneling billions of dollars to politicians and out of Ontario to Quebec and California. We are ecstatic not just that the government did the right thing by ending cap and trade, but that they did it right away. It was what they were elected to do.”
Christine Van Geyn
“The measures taken by the Government of Ontario, including the repeal of Bill 148 and the end of the cap and trade program help reduce the regulatory burden on manufacturers and enhance the competitiveness of Ontario’s manufacturing sector. We must continue to work towards creating a regulatory environment that encourages growth, creates opportunities for workers, increases investment and makes it easier to do business in Ontario.”
Dennis A. Darby
“Ontario’s waste sector is, and has long been, strongly committed to environmental sustainability and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Based on its requirements to establish a climate change plan that fosters positive economic outcomes and to wind down the cap and trade program in a fair and orderly manner, OWMA supports the provisions in Bill 4, the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act.”
Mike Chopowick
“Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association supports the Ontario Government’s decision to cancel the cap and trade program. Our members are independent business owners and found the program extremely expensive and burdensome to operate and report on. We look forward to working with the government to develop a climate change strategy that is more than just another tax on businesses.
Cap and trade was yet another tax on gasoline, driving up prices at the pumps for Ontarians and making it harder to make ends meet. Our members – independent business owners that operate retail gasoline sites – are pleased to see the program cancelled, and costs reduced for Ontarians.”
Jennifer Stewart
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