Liberal cap-and-trade plan an attack on industry, our way of life
The following is a statement by PC Environment and Cap-and-Trade Critic Lisa Thompson in response to the Liberals’ climate plan that was obtained by The Globe and Mail.
“The Liberals’ cap-and-trade scheme will increase the cost of gas, groceries, electricity and home-heating. Many Ontarians are already struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table for their families. But this reality hasn’t stopped the Liberals.
“The Liberal climate plan obtained by The Globe and Mail confirms what the Ontario PC Caucus has been saying all along: Premier Kathleen Wynne is intent on increasing the cost of living and doing business in Ontario – this time with a reckless cap-and-trade scheme.
“The Liberals’ climate plan reveals that Kathleen Wynne wants to take away natural gas heating from Ontarians and force them to pay for electric heat, which will cost $3,000 more every year.
“Under this plan, the Liberals will also impose a tax on gasoline – which will increase the cost of fuelling up by hundreds of dollars a year. Ontarians who must commute to work will bear the brunt of this unfair gas tax. The Liberals are forging ahead with this scheme despite Kathleen Wynne’s promise in 2014 that she would not raise gas taxes. Now, with no regard for the lives of Ontarians, she has broken her promise.
“The Liberal cap-and-trade cash-grab amounts to an attack on our way of life in Ontario and on the natural gas, petroleum and auto industries. After losing 350,000 good, well-paying manufacturing jobs, the Liberals have made it quite clear they are prepared to kill even more jobs, and send more Ontario companies south of the border.
“The affordability of life in Ontario and the health of our economy hang in the balance. If the Liberals continue with their reckless cap-and-trade scheme – the cost of everything in this province will go up and more hardworking Ontarians will be thrown out of work. That is why Ontarians must act now to stop this scheme before it’s too late.”