Ontario NDP calls for open process on climate action

Queen’s Park – Today the Ontario NDP is calling on the Liberal government to give Ontarians input on its climate action plan, including their soon to be released cap and trade program, so that it will be fair, effective and transparent. 

“Costly failures like the smart meter program and gas plant scandals show just how wrong things can go when this Liberal government doesn’t listen, and it’s Ontario families who end up paying the price,” said Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

“Kathleen Wynne’s Hydro selloff shows the same kind of short-sighted, undemocratic approach and it will only hinder our efforts to combat climate change. We believe the only way to move forward on a fair and effective climate change policy is to make it fundamentally transparent and open to public input.”

Horwath notes that climate change is already costing Ontarians hundreds of millions of dollars from extreme weather damage; the 2013 ice storm alone showed just how profound weather related disruptions can be as it paralyzed cities and towns across the province.

“A serious response to the challenge of climate change requires leadership by the government and public support, public trust,” said Ontario NDP Environment Critic Peter Tabuns.

“We ask that the whole climate change program including cap and trade be brought to the legislature for a review by an all-party committee and proper public consultation when the legislature resumes sitting.”

Ontario’s New Democrats believe that climate change policy must deliver real, measurable reductions in carbon pollution and must be transparent—allowing everyone to see the costs, the benefits and the effects. We also believe that low income and middle-class Ontarians who are already struggling to get by shouldn’t bear the burden of our response to climate change.

Lacking those key elements the Liberal’s proposed “climate action plan” and carbon pricing cannot succeed.