Trudeau government reviewing $420 million in transfer payments to Ontario after Doug Ford begins 'orderly wind-down' of green programs
By Steph Wechsler in News, Energy, Politics July 3rd 2018
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government says it's reviewing $420 million worth of transfer payments to Ontario after newly-minted Premier Doug Ford announced Canada's most populous province was beginning an "orderly wind-down" of its green programs.
The federal funding was part of the Trudeau government's Low Carbon Economy Fund, set up as part of the prime minister's national climate change framework. The fund is worth $2 billion over five years and to be spent on projects that reduce emissions, create jobs and help Canadians and companies save money across the country.
The federal government has offered the funding to provinces that ensure that polluters are paying a minimum price for their carbon emissions. Previously, the Trudeau government had accepted that the Ontario government could meet this standard through its participation, under former premier Kathleen Wynne, in a joint cap and trade system with Quebec and California.
This changed after Ford's Progressive Conservative party swept to power in Ontario's June 7 election and followed through on a campaign promise to abandon the cap and trade market, which allows companies to buy and sell pollution allowances in order to remain under a cap set by the government.
“By cancelling Ontario’s cap-and-trade plan, the Ontario government is making it clear that it is not taking climate action, and is effectively withdrawing from Canada’s national climate change plan without a plan of their own,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna told National Observer in a statement.
“We are evaluating what this decision means for the portion of federal funds that supported GreenON programs and Ontario’s funding under the Low Carbon Economy Fund. We will continue to work with the people of Ontario to tackle climate change, invest in clean growth, and create good middle class jobs. That is what Canadians expect and what we intend to deliver."
It was not immediately clear on Tuesday whether the previous Ontario government had received any of its share of funding from the federal government's Low Carbon Economy Fund.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/20...ion-transfer-payments-ontario-after-doug-ford
By Steph Wechsler in News, Energy, Politics July 3rd 2018
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government says it's reviewing $420 million worth of transfer payments to Ontario after newly-minted Premier Doug Ford announced Canada's most populous province was beginning an "orderly wind-down" of its green programs.
The federal funding was part of the Trudeau government's Low Carbon Economy Fund, set up as part of the prime minister's national climate change framework. The fund is worth $2 billion over five years and to be spent on projects that reduce emissions, create jobs and help Canadians and companies save money across the country.
The federal government has offered the funding to provinces that ensure that polluters are paying a minimum price for their carbon emissions. Previously, the Trudeau government had accepted that the Ontario government could meet this standard through its participation, under former premier Kathleen Wynne, in a joint cap and trade system with Quebec and California.
This changed after Ford's Progressive Conservative party swept to power in Ontario's June 7 election and followed through on a campaign promise to abandon the cap and trade market, which allows companies to buy and sell pollution allowances in order to remain under a cap set by the government.
“By cancelling Ontario’s cap-and-trade plan, the Ontario government is making it clear that it is not taking climate action, and is effectively withdrawing from Canada’s national climate change plan without a plan of their own,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna told National Observer in a statement.
“We are evaluating what this decision means for the portion of federal funds that supported GreenON programs and Ontario’s funding under the Low Carbon Economy Fund. We will continue to work with the people of Ontario to tackle climate change, invest in clean growth, and create good middle class jobs. That is what Canadians expect and what we intend to deliver."
It was not immediately clear on Tuesday whether the previous Ontario government had received any of its share of funding from the federal government's Low Carbon Economy Fund.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/20...ion-transfer-payments-ontario-after-doug-ford
