Climate Change


Last week Premier Ford stated that an increase in federal carbon pricing will be “the worst thing you could ever see” without offering a shred of evidence. We noted that the PCs defeated an NDP private member’s bill that would require the Minister of Health to prepare Ontario’s health system for health risks caused by climate change. The bill would have also established a strategic action plan, a Climate Crisis and Health Secretariat, and a Science Advisory Board.

It seems that every turn, the Ontario PC government denies science and stands in the way of reducing our carbon emissions. Ontario has, in fact, seen an increase in carbon emissions since the PCs took over. From silly gas pump stickers to a lack of incentives to switch to electric powered vehicles it would seem that this government is in denial.

Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP are committed to reducing Ontario’s GHG emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. These targets are consistent with the most ambitious aspects of the Paris Agreement with the aim of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°C. (The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns against letting global temperatures rise higher than this.) Our emission targets are ambitious but absolutely necessary. They are not just aspirations, they are firm commitments.

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