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Draft:Climate change in Ontario

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Climate change in the Canadian province of Ontario affects various environments and industries, including agriculture and food production.[1]

Greenhouse gas emissions

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Ontario went from 203 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 to over 157 million tonnes in 2022, an decrease of 22.6%.[2]

Impacts of climate change

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Lake Ontario

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The temperatures of the waters of Lake Ontario are expected to significantly increase.[3]

Built environment and infrastructure

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More extreme heat is are expected to cause roads to become cracked, and materials in otherr infrastructure is expected to crack.[4]

Precipitation

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Northern Ontario is expected to have rainy, warm winters and hot, dry summers.[5]

Response

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Legislation

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Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016

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Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
  • An Act respecting greenhouse gas
CitationSO 2016, c. 7
Assented to2016-05-18
Status: Repealed

The Government of Ontario imposed a cap-and-trade scheme, which would put a cap on emissions, in a similar manner to the EU scheme.[6]

The Act distinguishes between carbon dioxide emissions and all other emissions.[6]

Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018

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Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
  • An Act respecting the preparation of a climate change plan, providing for the wind down of the cap and trade program and repealing the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016
CitationS.O. 2018, c. 13
Assented to2018-10-31
Bill citationBill 4 of 2018
Status: In force

In June 2018, Doug Ford was sworn in as the Premier of Ontario, describing it as the "very first item" on his agenda.[7]

In July 2018, the government introduced the bill to repeal the scheme to the legislative assembly.[8] In October 2018, the legislative assembly passed the legislation.[9]

In October 2019, a court ruled the government had broken the law when it had repealed the scheme, because it did not hold a full consultation as required under the Environmental Bill of Rights, but the court did not reinstate the scheme.[10]

Federal Carbon Tax Transparency Act, 2019

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Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
CitationSO. 2019, c. 7, Schedule 23
Assented to2018-10-31
Bill citationBill 4 of 2018
Status: In force

In 2019, the Ontario government imposed requirements to put stickers on pumps, indicating that the carbon tax adds a to-be-determined amount to the price: at the time, this was 4.4 cents per litre.[11]

This legislation was struck down by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.[11]

This was parodied by the Green Party of Ontario, on the basis that inaction on climate change would cost more in the long-term.[12]

Protecting Against Carbon Taxes Act, 2024

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Protecting Against Carbon Taxes Act, 2024
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
CitationSO 2024, c 9, Schedue 5
Assented to2024-05-16
Bill citationBill 4 of 2018
Status: In force

In April 2024, reiterated his view that the federal carbon tax should be repealed.[13]

The government imposed a requirement that any carbon tax implemented under provincial legislation would require a referendum, but an equivalent measure regarding taxes in general, the Taxpayer Protection Act, 1999, did not impose a referendum regarding the Ontario Health Premium due to parliamentary sovereignty.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Crawley, Mike (2023-09-13). "A grim report about climate change in Ontario was kept quiet for 8 months". CBC. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  2. ^ Crawley, Mike (2024-05-03). "Ontario's carbon emissions jump back to pre-pandemic levels". CBC. Archived from the original on 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  3. ^ Macfarlane, Daniel (2025-02-19). "Climate change is threatening Lake Ontario — lessons from the Little Ice Age show us why we need to adapt". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  4. ^ "Ontario could save $1.1B a year if it adapts public infrastructure for climate change: fiscal watchdog". CBC. 2023-11-22. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  5. ^ White, Erik (2023-09-14). "Climate change report envisions a northern Ontario with warm, rainy winters, more deer and less pickerel".
  6. ^ a b Olawuyi, Damilola S. (2016). "Ontario's Climate Change Mitigation and Low Carbon Economy Act: Pious Aspirations or New Dawn?". Consilience (16): 29–37. ISSN 1948-3074.
  7. ^ "Doug Ford disrupts Canada's climate policy". The Economist. 2018-06-28. Archived from the original on 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  8. ^ Kassam, Ashifa (2018-07-03). "Doug Ford scraps carbon tax plan and sets up climate fight with Trudeau". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  9. ^ "Ontario government officially kills cap-and-trade climate plan". CBC. 2018-10-31. Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  10. ^ Boisvert, Nick (2019-10-13). "Doug Ford government broke the law when it scrapped cap-and-trade, court rules". CBC. Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  11. ^ a b Macnab, Aidan. "Comments by ministers in legislature and media used against government in carbon tax sticker ruling". www.lawtimesnews.com. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  12. ^ Crawley, Mike (2019-05-02). "Ontario Green party parodies Doug Ford's carbon tax stickers". CBC. Archived from the original on 2019-05-04. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  13. ^ Jabakhanji ·, Sara (2024-04-02). "Federal carbon tax 'has to go,' says Ontario premier". CBC. Archived from the original on 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  14. ^ McGrath, John Michael (2024-02-20). "Doug Ford's omnibus bill is bad policy that will accomplish nothing". www.tvo.org. Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
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