A February 10 poll said two-thirds of potential Conservative supporters say serious action on climate change is needed. MPP Ted Arnott, the PC critic for the Environment and Climate Change, said in a speech to the Legislature in December 2017 “doing nothing is not an option” and, “We say that every dollar collected in carbon price revenue should be returned to Ontario families and taxpayers in the form of corresponding tax relief, as verified by the Auditor General.”
Yet four of the current Ontario Progressive Conservative party leadership candidates say they will scrap the revenue-neutral carbon tax, which was a key pillar in the party’s platform, the People’s Guarantee.
That carbon tax, designed to fight climate change and help fund lower to middle income tax cuts, was a viable alternative to the Liberals cap and trade approach, assisting those who can least afford the inevitably increasing costs of transitioning off fossil fuels.
Conservatives claim to be protectors of the environment, but the leadership candidates – with the exception of Patrick Brown – want to get rid of something that does just that.
The PCs held power in Ontario from 1943-1985 because they were progressive.
Will true progressive conservatives please stand and be counted on March 10?
Gord Cumming