Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is ignoring the fact that a price on pollution will certainly rise from the dead.
MPP Sam Oosterhoff celebrated passing legislation that cancels the province’s cap-and-trade program with a rendition of “Monster Mash.” Bill 4, the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, passed its third reading on Halloween.
“We stopped the carbon tax,” the member for Niagara West sang in the legislature on Wednesday afternoon. “We stopped the tax,” his colleagues chimed in.
Because the PCs cancelled the province’s existing program, the federal government will now impose its own carbon tax on Ontario. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ontario will get a carbon tax on Jan. 1, 2019.
Premier Doug Ford has joined forces with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe with a promise to fight the federal government in court, but many lawyers predict they’ll lose their cases. Ford was visited by federal Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer on Tuesday, who also threw support behind Ontario’s court challenge.