Speakers ponder effects of gas tax cut on congestion, transit funding at forum The pledge of Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government to lower gas taxes by 10 cents a litre was called regressive and counter-productive to efforts to reduce congestion and fund new transit infrastructure by speakers addressing a recent Toronto transit forum. The effects of the gas tax cut were assessed by experts from the worlds of academia, business, the non-profit sector and construct

Ottawa looks to relax benchmarks under Canadian carbon pricing programme The Canadian government may relax industry production benchmarks under its output-based carbon pricing system (OBPS), which forms part of its backstop carbon pricing plan, as well as introduce a similar metric for the power sector, it said at a workshop on Wednesday. In addition to a levy on fossil fuels, the federal government’s backstop plan under the pan-Canadian Framework includes an OBPS that would

UPDATE – Ontario cap-and-trade repeal bill sees compliance obligations, few refunds for purchased allowances The Ontario government on Wednesday introduced a bill to formally repeal the province’s cap-and-trade programme, earmarking compensation equivalent to a tiny fraction of the nearly C$3 billion raised through allowance sales and effectively establishing compliance obligations for the scheme’s emitters. According to Toronto-based consultants ClearBlue Markets, the govern

UPDATE 2-Canada's Ontario government scraps cap-and-trade program The newly elected Ontario government announced on Tuesday it would end the province’s cap-and-trade program, a policy designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fulfilling one of Premier Doug Ford’s election promises. However, it leaves businesses that bought C$2.8 billion ($2.1 billion) worth of allowances in limbo. Ford’s Progressive Conservative government swept to power last month, ending 15 years of Libe

Will Ontario's Carbon Market Withdrawal Harm The Western Climate Initiative? No, Says Price Rebound. Shortly after his June 7th election, populist Ontario Premier-designate Doug Ford announced his intention to withdraw from the California-Quebec-Ontario linked Western Climate Initiative (WCI) carbon market and promised to fight the Canadian government’s broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, causing turmoil for companies in the province. Doug Ford, Ontario's prem