TORONTO — Ecojustice lawyer, Charles Hatt issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement that Ontario will repeal its Climate Change and Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016:
“The Ford government is doing away with Ontario’s greenhouse gas reduction targets and cap-and-trade scheme without proposing its own alternative. This is an irresponsible approach that puts short-term politics ahead of Ontarians’ health and our environment.”
“If and when this government gets around to making a plan to combat climate change, its hands will be tied by Ford’s opposition to carbon pricing in any form. The only tools left are heavy-handed regulations, expensive subsidies, and meaningless voluntary measures. Add it all up and you come to this conclusion: either the Ford government will take climate change action that costs more to the economy or it will shrink from the challenge of reducing our carbon pollution. Neither outcome is good.”
“Until the Ford government commits to aggressive targets to reduce GHG pollution — and a credible set of laws and policies to achieve them — Ontario’s plan on climate change is to have more of it.”
“We need to look no further than the extreme heat wave that has impacted Ontarians in recent weeks as an example of what will become the norm if our government refuses to act on climate change.”