<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Scrapping Ontario\u2019s cap-and-trade program could come with a big price tag, and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has asked the province’s Financial Accountability Officer (FAO) to look into just how big.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals\u2019 gas plants scandal, Ontarians saw just how much it costs to rip up contracts,\u201d said Horwath. \u201cBefore Mr. Ford rips up the cap-and-trade deal, and makes billions in credits already bought by Ontario businesses worthless, we need to take a hard look at those costs in this case \u2013 not just for the province, but the costs to families and businesses.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n So far, $3 billion in emissions credits have been auctioned and bought by businesses. If Ontario leaves the cap-and-trade market, it\u2019s not clear if the province would be on the hook to reimburse those companies, and what other costs and penalties come with ripping up the contracts and agreements Ontario has entered into with Quebec, California and all those industries currently in the cap-and-trade market.<\/em><\/p>\n \n The federal government has committed to impose a carbon tax on any province that doesn\u2019t have its own emissions reduction plan by next year \u2013 which also means Ford is risking a federal carbon tax being slapped on Ontario if he scraps cap-and-trade and doesn\u2019t put in any replacement program.<\/em><\/p>\n \n \u201cI believe it\u2019s up to us to leave the next generation with clean air and clean water. I\u2019m worried that not only is Doug Ford jeopardizing Ontario\u2019s environment \u2013 he\u2019s asking people and businesses to pay extra to do it,\u201d said Horwath. \u201cBefore Ford makes a final decision to scrap cap-and-trade, let\u2019s see just how much that will cost families and businesses \u2013 including the impacts on gasoline prices and household heating bills if Ontario defaults to the federally-imposed carbon tax instead of the current cap-and-trade market.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Peter Weltman, Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario<\/p>\n Financial Accountability Office of Ontario <\/p>\n June 26, 2018<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mr. Weltman;<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Premier-designate Doug Ford has said he intends to terminate Ontario\u2019s cap-and-trade system, and break the cap-and-trade agreements and contracts Ontario has entered into.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s a critical job of the Legislative Assembly to leave the next generation with a province that has clean air, clean water, and a stable climate. But I am concerned that the decision to scrap cap and trade without a replacement won\u2019t just have serious environmental impacts \u2013 it could cost Ontario businesses and the province billions of dollars. For families, scrapping cap-and-trade may mean service cuts and a more expensive life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the previous Liberal government\u2019s gas plants scandal, Ontarians saw that ripping up contracts can result in billions of dollars in added costs and penalties. To date, Mr. Ford has not acknowledged the costs, risks or consequences of his actions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before the government makes a final decision,\u00a0the Legislative Assembly and Ontarians deserve a complete picture of how much it will cost to scrap Ontario\u2019s cap-and-trade system. My request to the FAO is to provide an assessment of those costs, taking into account the following questions:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you for your immediate attention to this important matter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Respectfully,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andrea Horwath,\u00a0Leader of Ontario\u2019s Official Opposition<\/p>\n <\/p>\n cc: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Premier-designate Doug Ford<\/p>\n Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Premier-designate Doug Ford<\/p>\n Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park<\/p>\n Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1<\/p>\n <\/p>\n June 26, 2018<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Premier-designate Ford;<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m writing to inform you that I have asked the Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario (FAO) to examine the costs and consequences of terminating Ontario\u2019s cap-and-trade system with no replacement, and breaking the cap-and-trade agreements and contracts Ontario has entered into.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As you\u2019ll recall from the Liberal government\u2019s gas plants scandal, ripping up contracts can result in billions of dollars in added costs and penalties.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am concerned that the decision to scrap cap and trade without a replacement program won\u2019t just have serious environmental impacts \u2013 it could cost Ontario businesses, families, and the province billions of dollars. For families, scrapping cap-and-trade may mean service cuts and a more expensive life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In short, I don\u2019t believe Ontarians should pay extra to damage the environment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your stated goals are to cut spending; and therefore, I\u2019m sure you would agree that it\u2019s critical that we learn how much it will cost the province, and people and businesses in Ontario before you plow ahead with the termination of cap-and-trade. Therefore, I urge you to support my request for an FAO assessment, and cooperate fully with the FAO\u2019s work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In anticipation of your immediate response, thank you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andrea Horwath<\/p>\n Leader of Ontario\u2019s Official Opposition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scrapping Ontario\u2019s cap-and-trade program could come with a big price tag, and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has asked the province’s Financial Accountability Officer (FAO) to look into just how big. \u201cWith Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals\u2019 gas plants scandal, Ontarians saw just how much it costs to rip up contracts,\u201d said Horwath. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[1539,134,1430],"class_list":["post-13554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-northern-ontario","tag-andrea-hor","tag-andrea-horwath","tag-wawa-wood-heat-rebate-program"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 04:16:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13555,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13554\/revisions\/13555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\n2 Bloor Street West,\u00a0Suite 900
\nToronto, Ontario \u00a0M4W 3E2<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n