CLEAN50 AWARD WINNERS ALARMED OVER ONTARIO'S CARBON TAX DECISION

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July 4, 2018 - The following members of Canada’s Clean50 are alarmed about the recent debate surrounding carbon pricing in Ontario, and the announced cancellation of the Cap-and-Trade program now in effect.

While the Clean50 understands that the new government wishes to deliver on a campaign promise, The Clean50 asks that they consider doing so in a more measured fashion that will not be so costly to Ontario taxpayers.

Ontario committed to the Cap and Trade program with California and Quebec until 2020. Reneging on that agreement will have significant consequences that will be economically and environmentally harmful to Ontarians, and damaging to Ontario’s reputation as a reliable business partner.

Ontario also signed on to the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change with 9 other provinces. By pulling out of our agreement with the other provinces and the federal government, we leave Canada significantly less likely to meet the commitments we made in Paris, and we also risk losing the $420 million the federal government gave Ontario to help us meet those commitments.

In addition, carbon pricing is now federally mandated and will shortly be paid by Ontarians regardless – So, we will still pay the tax at the pump, but if we don’t have an Ontario-based tax, the Federal Government will collect the tax and determine how the funds are spent! Is that really what we want?

The consequences of an abrupt withdrawal include:

• The cost to Ontario taxpayers will be billions of dollars in both hard costs and the loss of projected investments. There’s significant risk of lawsuits from all the affected parties who paid nearly $3 billion into the program and may sue, as well as others who relied upon support from the program to make major investments. Plus the $420 million from the Federal Government. That’s an average of at least $468 per Ontario taxpayer! And likely a lot more.

• Even more compelling, millions of dollars’ worth of carbon offset projects slated for development across Canada that were only viable as a result of Ontario’s cap and trade program will no longer occur – projects that would have absorbed or eliminated millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions while creating thousands of jobs. 

• There’s only a very short term savings at the pump now: The price of gas will be the same by 2019, and rise by a further seven cents per litre by 2020 – out of our control. 

• Real or planned jobs will be lost – or moved to other jurisdictions, taking Ontario’s jobs with them. Larger clean project investments and research initiatives, supported through cap and trade auction revenue, will no longer materialize. Some regions directly hit include Brampton ($10.3 million), Durham ($40.6 million) Bowmanville ($11.3 million), Haldimand-Norfolk ($10.5 million) Hamilton ($21.0 million), Perth-Wellington ($15.5 million) St. Catherine’s ($46.8 million) and Thunder Bay ($10.4 million). 

• Proceeds of the money raised through cap and trade were to be used to partially pay for, and incent greater investments, in energy-efficiency improvements to our homes and businesses. Those incentives are already providing countless Ontarians with significant monthly energy savings while supporting thousands of good-paying jobs, such as solar energy installers and roles with clean tech manufacturers. All of those benefits will be lost. 

• With no incentives to reduce pollution, harmful levels of greenhouse gases will continue to be pumped into our air, further accelerating climate change and associated annual natural disaster losses. These emissions harm everyone who lives in Ontario. 

• Increased carbon pollution increases health care costs: it means increased asthma and health impacts that result in higher health care system costs. 

• Withdrawal will inevitably lead to lawsuits and refunds costing Ontario taxpayers billions of dollars in payments to injured parties and legal fees – costs that could be avoided by remaining in the California and Québec cap-and-trade partnership until 2020. It may also lead to trade repercussions with two of Ontario’s largest trading partners. 

• Withdrawal reduces the confidence that businesses need to invest in Ontario: When Governments break contracts, businesses invest elsewhere. 

Before an abrupt withdrawal, Ontarians should consider the alternatives:

Our current partnership makes our province more livable, and encourages companies to expand in Ontario, rather than take their jobs and innovation to more enlightened provinces and U.S. states. It is the way the world is going – and ensures we remain competitive in the future. Increasingly, other jurisdictions from China and Europe to Mexico and New York – are moving forward with cap and trade and perceive Ontario as a leader and partner. Ontario must continue down this path – or look backwards and fall behind.

We urge Ontarians to reach out to their MPPs and ask them to support the existing carbon pricing model until a proper replacement can be implemented, and keep moving Ontario forward. We cannot afford to go back….

Respectfully,

1. John Coyne, VP Legal and External Affairs, Unilever

2. Don Roberts, CEO Nawitka Capital

3. Mike Gerbis, CEO, GLOBE Series

4. Ted Ferguson, President Delphi

5. Frank Dottori, CEO, Tembec (ret'd)

6. Kurt Sorschak, CEO, Xebec

7. Dan Seto, COO, Circuit Meter

8. Bill Redelmeier, CEO, Southbrook Winery

9. Bruce Taylor, CEO, EnviroStewards

10. Juergen Puetter, CEO, Blue Fuel Energy

11. Tima Bansal, Professor, Ivey Business School

12. Audrey Mascarenhas, CEO, Questor Technology

13. Stephen Cheeseman, CEO, Chinook Power

14. Francisca Quinn, Managing Partner, Quinn & Partners

15. Tony Pringle, Quinn & Partners

16. Alex Mifflin, SK Films and

17. Tyler Mifflin, SK Films, (AKA the Water Brothers)

18. Rob Shirkey, ED, Our Horizon

19. Antony Marcil, past President & CEO, FSC Canada

20. Nicholas Parker, CEO, Global Acceleration Partners

21. Audrey Depault, ED, Climate Reality Project, Canada

22. Beth Savan, University of Toronto

23. Bruce Lourie, Ivey Foundation

24. Derek Satnik, VP, s2e Technologies

25. Joan Prowse, CEO, Cinefocus Canada

26. Milla Craig, CEO, Millani

27. Sarah Petrevan, Clean Energy Canada

28. Doug Webber

29. John Keating, Chairman, BluEarth Renewables

30. Andrew Hejnar

31. Celine Bak, CEO, Analytica Advisors

32. Blair Feltmate, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo

33. Catherine Potvin, Sustainable Canada Dialogues

34. Ron Dembo, CEO, Zerofootprint Software

35. Jarrod Goldin, CEO, Entomo Farms

36. Bob Willard, Founder, Sustainability Advantage

37. Paul Richardson, CEO, Renewal Funds

38. Eric Chisholm

39. Aaron Freeman, President, Pivot Strategic Consulting

40. Stephen Carpenter, founder, Enermodal

41. John Grace, Emeritus Professor and Dean, University of British Columbia

42. Meredith Adler, Student Energy

43. Andrew White, CEO, CHAR Technologies

44. Sandra Odendahl, President & CEO, CMC Research Institutes

45. Tania Caceres, President, Risk Nexus

46. Geoff Cape, CEO, Evergreen

47. Greg Stewart, Principal, GreenSky Capital

48. Charles Hopkins, UNESCO Chairholder, York University

49. Jane Ambachtsheer, Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto

50. Merran Smith, Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada

51. Eric Bauce, Professor, Université Laval

52. Laura Zizzo, founder and CEO, Zizzo Strategy

53. Trish Nixon, Managing Director, CoPower

54. Peter Victor, Emeritus Professor, York University

55. Steve Byrne, V.P.,DCR Systems Group

56. Philippe Bernier, Trioveste

57. Joanna Kyriazis, Zizzo Strategy

58. Marty Janowicz, VP & Practice Leader, Sustainable Development, Stantec

59. Dan Rames

60. Brian Astl, President, Lind Equipment

61. Elizabeth Sheehan, President, Climate Smart Businesses

62. Ralf Nielsen, Managing Director, Colliers Project Leaders

63. Kate Whalen, McMaster

64. Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence

65. Soheil Khiavi, CTO, Inventys

66. David Berliner, Managing Director, CoPower

67. Mike Battistel, President, Cascadia Windows

68. Jim Harris, CEO, Strategic Advantage

69. Howard Chang, Co-founder, The Turn Lab

70. Phil Dennis, SiREM

71. Jeanette Southwood

72. Darryl Neate

73. Gavin Pitchford, CEO, Delta Management, ED Canada’s Clean50 Awards