Pirate's Cove

There’s one thing that’s missing from the press release from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, comrades

Proposed Law to Ensure Transparency, Accountability for Use of Cap and Trade Auction Proceeds

To build on the work already underway to fight the effects of climate change, Ontario is laying a foundation to join the biggest carbon market in North America by introducing new legislation today that, if passed, would ensure that proceeds from the province’s cap and trade system are transparently reinvested into green projects and actions that will reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

Under the proposed Climate Change Mitigation and Low Carbon Economy Act, all proceeds from Ontario’s cap and trade program would be deposited into a new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account. In turn, this account would only fund projects and initiatives aimed at reducing emissions.

Total transparency! What it doesn’t provide is any relief for the cost of living increases the citizens of Ontario (the Canadian province, not the city in California) will see from this. Back in November 2015 the government promised that “Ontario will reduce the overall cost to households and businesses by investing in energy retrofits and low carbon transportation options.” In other words, they know that the cost of living will spike via the “death by a thousand papercuts” method, so, good news, they will save consumers money by letting them ride “carbon friendly” buses and bicycles.

From that same article, the government is worried about “carbon leakage”

The province is also concerned about “mitigating carbon leakage,” which is what happens if a business moves its production to a jurisdiction with more lax pollution standards to evade cap-and-trade rules.

The people of Ontario should thank the Government when their cost of living goes up and the jobs move elsewhere. But, hey, the program will be totally transparent! On the plus side, at least the government is not yammering about returning most of the money to the people. It’s basically a slush fund to pay for government that spends more than it takes in, and will drive business elsewhere.