Ontario Chamber of Commerce expresses concerns over cap and trade
by Cleantech Canada Staff
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce sent Premier Wynne an open letter, calling on the province to contain the costs of cap and trade to support Ontario's business community
TORONTO—On Apr. 5, The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) sent Premier Kathleen Wynne an open letter, calling on the provincial government to contain the costs of cap and trade.
The OCC has stated that the province must measure the impact of cap and trade to fully understand the effects on Ontario’s business community.
The organization has identified four actions that it believes would assist the business community to better navigate the cap and trade system:
- Prioritize the allocation of cap and trade revenue for businesses: Make the process to access resources as quick as possible, especially for smaller businesses who have little time or money to dedicate to program applications.
- Prioritize innovation funding: Many Ontario businesses have already taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Achieving further reductions could be difficult and will often require the implementation of new technologies.
- Create greater post-2020 certainty: Post-2020 certainty is important for businesses looking to make long-term investments in Ontario.
- Monitor and respond to regional impacts: To ensure the strategic allocation of cap and trade revenues, government should conduct a regional analysis of the impacts.
“Increased input costs imposed on the private sector mean that Ontario risks losing out on jobs and investment, and risks an economically and environmentally damaging shift in production to jurisdictions that are not taking action to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” said Graham Henderson, chair of the OCC.
The OCC says that low business confidence and increasing competition from the U.S. could also negatively impact jobs and investment in the province.
The letter the OCC sent to Premier Wynne is aimed at impacting government policy in Budget 2017, and builds on earlier meetings between the OCC and senior government officials.
Last year, the OCC called on the province to delay the implementation of the cap and trade system until 2018.
