Hope Harper Daddys Monkey Business Part 1 And 2
Onofre Alamillo
New Democrats agree that there are parts of the cap-and-trade system that need to be fixed, but cancelling the cap-and-trade system does nothing other than lose the money that is paid by polluters. It is a falsehood to call cap-and-trade a tax. Cancelling cap-and-trade is a plan for the rich that leaves the rest of us, our economy and our environment worse off.
This government failed to foresee the policy intersection with cap-and-trade. They claim it will save money, but they set aside $30 million in legal costs for the constitutional challenge of the federal carbon tax. Who benefits from this? Small businesses across the province that were hired to fulfill retrofitting contracts are left scrambling.
This is a disturbing pattern with this government: rash decisions; fire, ready, aim rather than ready, aim, fire with legislation; lawsuits resulting. Who is giving this government legal advice? Better Call Saul?
Carbon taxes have nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with increasing government revenues. A carbon tax will drive up the cost of gas, home heating fuel and everything else you buy.
We know definitively that cap-and-trade was nothing more than a slush fund. It was there to provide extra money for the government to spend on idealistic things. It was not there to improve the environment.
My father was a meteorologist. He worked for Environment Canada. He would talk quite often about the devastating storms and climate change and global warming, and what politicians can do, specifically when I got involved in politics. One of the things he did complain about is maybe more municipal, but I think we all have a role here to play. Oftentimes buildings are built in places or in a manner without taking into account the wind tunnels that are created, without taking into account the stormwater, and without taking into account the future repairs that are going to have to be made.
In terms of transit planning, we have to do this in a bigger planning effort involving and working with all of our different levels of government and ensuring that we come up with a GTA- and province-wide plan to not just improve the environment but to improve the quality of life, improve our economy, improve our infrastructure, and improve our transit.
Within this bill, it is mandatory that our government understands the impact of the greenhouse effect. This is not a government that is not concerned about the climate; we are concerned about the climate. Therefore, in this bill, we stated that we are going to develop a plan. But if some plan is not working at all, at that point in time we will cancel it, and we will develop a plan that is workable and affordable for Ontarians.
We campaigned on a mandate to reduce prices and make life affordable. We are putting $260, Madam Speaker, back in the pockets of working people. This is not insignificant. This is an incremental step in helping to realize a commitment we made to the people of this province to deliver economic prosperity.
These portables are in such bad condition because of the flooding, the freezing and the thawing that when you walk in, you smell the humidity. You walk and the floors are going like this or like that. There are gaps under the doors because they have to shave the doors because of the building warping and the mould.
This was a regressive tax. It forced poor and middle-class Ontarians to pay more for basic necessities. As former Premier Kathleen Wynne admitted, because of her mistake on the energy file, some Ontarians were forced to choose between paying their electric bill and buying food or paying for rent. Combined with skyrocketing hydro rates and the growth of red tape under the previous government, cap-and-trade made Ontario a challenging jurisdiction for businesses, particularly for manufacturing.
So we can do things a bit differently. I know the member will acknowledge this. Protecting the environment will mean different things to different communities. For my community, protecting the environment means getting us to work faster and getting us out of cars. It means bringing our natural heritage under the protection of government, like we did federally with Rouge Park. There are a lot of different things that we can do, and I think collecting a tax, a regressive tax, is the worst thing, because as we have proven, it does not work in making our environment cleaner.
Speaker, when the legislation was first introduced in the assembly by my colleague the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, he spoke about two important aspects: first, that this legislation fulfills a promise made to the people of Ontario; and second, that while accepting and understanding the challenges that climate change presents, the solution is not to be found in a regressive tax.
In May 2018, Philip Cross wrote an opinion piece in the Toronto Star on the topic of carbon taxes and emissions. Mr. Cross is a Munk senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He noted this: When first proposed, a carbon tax had the potential to be an effective way of achieving the long-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but the ongoing campaign conducted by advocates has become so politicized by ideology that it is no longer politically tenable. And with rising oil prices, it is no longer practically tenable for Ontarians.
The carbon tax in Ontario would, if left unchecked, be a very expensive reality for Ontario families. A carbon tax added to the higher oil prices makes it far too punitive for the average family already struggling to pay monthly bills. We promised that we would act, and we have.
In addition to that, we currently are in the process of reviewing the bill. I believe there are some real concerns with it vis--vis standing orders 23 and 52. I just want to give you a heads-up that I will be presenting these concerns to you on the next sessional day that the House meets.
Earlier today, we sought unanimous consent in order for the House to not sit Monday, September 17 and Tuesday, September 18, to allow the members of the Legislature to attend the International Plowing Match. Can the minister tell us why attending the 2018 International Plowing Match is so important to the government of Ontario?
This government is committed to supporting rural Ontario. We recognize the tremendous opportunity for economic development and growth in rural Ontario. Our government was elected by the people, for the people, and this includes the people in rural and remote parts of the province.
Ensuring that Ontario is open for business includes ensuring that rural Ontario is open for business. Cutting hydro rates, reducing red tape and regulatory burdens, and scrapping the cap-and-trade carbon tax will all help rural Ontario prosper.
This government is committed to working with the people to bring the kinds of changes that work best for them to make life affordable again. Our government is scrapping the cap-and-trade carbon tax, reducing hydro rates, and removing red tape and regulatory burdens that make it harder for business to be competitive.
Bill 5 is not about transit or efficiency. In fact, yesterday, the Premier repeatedly confirmed that the real purpose of Bill 5 is to target progressive Toronto councillors, mentioning several of them by name.
Our government campaigned on a clear message: reducing the size of government and making government work better for the people. Toronto is the economic engine of this province and this country. For the people of York Centre in north Toronto, building infrastructure and building subways, subways, subways is a priority. They expect this government to make use of every lawful measure available on these priorities, a measure that is expressly provided for in the charter.
The purpose of section 33 is to provide a mechanism so that where there is a disagreement between a judge and a Legislature surrounding the constitutionality of a law, the people get the final say. As with all exercises of parliamentary power, the ramifications of our decision will occur at the ballot box, and that is a principle of parliamentary democracy.
I know that the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is a great tool that our government is using to effect real change in northern regions. Can the minister please provide the members with an update on a new project that is going to improve the lives of northern Ontarians?
Through this investment, our government reaffirms its commitment to building a health care system that works for patients and their families. Our government has committed to improving all the lives of the people in every corner of our great province. That is a promise made by Premier Ford and a promise kept.
Policing infrastructure has been ignored the last 15 years. As a result, a growing number of OPP detachments across Ontario, like the one in Parry Sound, have exceeded their useful life cycle and require replacement due to health and safety concerns.
You know, Mr. Speaker, I had one of my finest moments in my political career when I stood shoulder to shoulder with Chief Superintendent David Lucas, Inspector Nathan Schmidt and several members of the OPP in the beautiful town of Fort Frances to announce a new OPP facility. This will offer improved amenities, and address appropriate workplace health and safety issues. It will get rid of obsolete design and technologies and a lack of overall space, and, more importantly, offer a place to engage our communities.
Does the Minister of Education believe that violating the rights and freedoms of Toronto voters is more important than finally giving teachers the material they desperately need to keep our children safe?
My question is to the Minister of Finance. Today, the Ontario Securities Commission published proposed amendments to investment regulations that would ban embedded commissions in the sale of certain investment vehicles. I am concerned that if these proposed amendments are implemented, the Ontario Securities Commission will discontinue a payment option for purchasing mutual funds that has enabled Ontario families and investors to save toward retirement and other financial goals.
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