Saving the environment without sacrificing pocketbooks

Dear Editor,

Fighting climate change is no longer a choice. It is a challenge which needs to be urgently addressed.

Unfortunately, the cap-and-trade plan the Liberal government has proposed is nothing more than another slush fund. The Liberal plan will bring $1.9 billion into government coffers next year alone by increasing the cost of electricity, gas and groceries. They are raising money on the backs of hard-working Ontario families in the name of the environment and will use the revenue to pay for years of scandal, waste and mismanagement.

This should come as no surprise. This is the same government that created a health tax to support health care, but put that into general revenue, and said that the gas plants only cost Ontarians $40 million when they actually cost $1.1 billion. This government can’t be trusted. We’ve seen them abuse taxpayer dollars and trust before, and they’ll do it again.

The Ontario PC Party support a revenue neutral carbon price – meaning it results in corresponding tax cuts for individuals and businesses. Any carbon price also needs to have transparent and independent oversight to ensure it actually results in emission reductions. It must also return the revenues collected back to taxpayers.

The people of Whitby-Oshawa and Ontario will be faced with two choices: trusting a Liberal government which has a long track record of manipulating Ontarians and making life increasingly unaffordable, or trusting the Ontario PC Party led by Patrick Brown, who will take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while protecting taxpayers and the economy.

Lorne Coe

Whitby-Oshawa MPP