Leamington greenhouse growers say cap-and-trade is killing family businesses

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
117,629
14,363
113
Low Earth Orbit
No shit? I never saw this coming. What a surprise.

Farmers say the new Ontario program has doubled their gas bill.

Leamington greenhouse growers say if the provincial government's cap-and-trade program survives they won't.

The program, which was put in place on Jan. 1, is meant to reward companies that cut down on their greenhouse gas emissions, but Gerry Mastronardi of TG&G Mastronardi said it's killing family-owned businesses.

"That is the bottom line, we just cannot justify this, we cannot afford this," Mastronardi said.

A group of about eight small greenhouse growers met in Leamington Sunday to talk about the future of their production under the new Ontario program.
Mastronardi, who farms tomatoes, said most of the small greenhouses in the Windsor-Essex are family-run businesses that have been passed down for generations, but the new tax might mean be the end of that.

"We are established here and we don't know if we are going to survive, I would consider very strongly searching elsewhere to start up again because I don't see a future in Ontario the way it stands," said Mastronardi, adding his bill this month was double the previous month.

He isn't alone. Jamie Diniro owns a cucumber greenhouse in Leamington. His bill for December 2016 was about $19,000, last month his bill was $41,674.

He said it's not fair for Ontarians to have to pay such high taxes compared to other provinces.

"Alberta is settled and British Columbia is settled and we are getting hammered ... we are all Canada here, but we seem to be getting the brunt of the high tax," said Diniro.

Tony Mastronardi of Mastro T Farms is experiencing the same thing.

"This is not going to work the way it is now," he said. "There is no future for us here now, it has to change, very simple."

Growers want meeting with Wynne

The group of farmers also pointed to what they believe is a lack of transparency when it comes to cap-and-trade. Many of them said they weren't exactly sure what they were paying for when their bills rolled in at the end of the month.

The farmers hope to sit down and talk with Premier Kathleen Wynne to explain their plight.

"Sit down with us, that's all I ask, do the right thing," said Mastronardi.


Leamington greenhouse growers say cap-and-trade is killing family businesses - Windsor - CBC News
 

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,198
113
Weed/hemp's the biggest alcohol producing plant there is
The oil is not bad either:
Diesels were meant to run on it before Deisel was bumped off and the plans changed to fossil fuel...
Fords ran on the alcohol up till prohibition...
;)

prohibitions are good for oil prices though....
 

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,198
113
A politician starts out blowing glass for a ship in a bottle and..well..gets carried away...
 

captain morgan

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 28, 2009
28,429
148
63
A Mouse Once Bit My Sister
They won't be paying. They'll be out of business.

Maybe not. As per the article, they can opt to move out of Ontario.

... This is exactly what happened when California decided to squeeze the business community in that state, numerous companies relocated the operations to Nevada and Texas (for tax reasons) and kept selling their goods/services in CA.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
117,629
14,363
113
Low Earth Orbit
Plenty of room in SK.

The real kicker is these greenhouses aren't creating emissions. They utilize the CO2 from the burned gas to enhance their crops.

They should be getting credits but aren't.

Larger operations are getting exemptions while mom and pop operations are getting nailed.

California and Quebec which Ontario wants to join in the cap and trade scheme are losing money hand over fist.


The cap-and-trade program Ontario’s set to join next year is having big trouble in California and Quebec, and it could mean Ontario’s much-heralded $8.3-billion Climate Change Action Plan has far less money to spend in reality.

For the second time in a row, a joint cap-and-trade auction held by California and Quebec has failed to sell most of the emissions allowances on offer. It leaves the two governments hundreds of millions of dollars short on revenue projections, and nobody can say for certain why the auctions are failing.

Cap-and-trade auctions are held quarterly, and see businesses buying allowances from the government to cover their expected greenhouse gas emissions during a time period. Businesses can also trade allowances in between auctions. In a cap-and-trade system, there is a total cap on emissions and only enough allowances to fit within that cap. The cap comes down over time.

Ontario has budgeted for about $2 billion annually from cap-and-trade auctions, starting next year — a figure that will be impossible to meet if these auction results continue.
 

captain morgan

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 28, 2009
28,429
148
63
A Mouse Once Bit My Sister
Plenty of room in SK.

The real kicker is these greenhouses aren't creating emissions. They utilize the CO2 from the burned gas to enhance their crops.

They should be getting credits but aren't.

Larger operations are getting exemptions while mom and pop operations are getting nailed.

California and Quebec which Ontario wants to join in the cap and trade scheme are losing money hand over fist.


Good catch on the CO2 recycling
 

Jinentonix

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 6, 2015
11,619
6,262
113
Olympus Mons
Plenty of room in SK.

The real kicker is these greenhouses aren't creating emissions. They utilize the CO2 from the burned gas to enhance their crops.

They should be getting credits but aren't.

Larger operations are getting exemptions while mom and pop operations are getting nailed.
:lol: If you think Mastronardi's is a "mom and pop" operation, I have 50 acres of prime swampland to sell you and I'll even throw in a bridge for free.