Let the people speak. At least, if you live east of Thunder Bay.That’s because Ontario Premier Doug Ford is proposing to introduce a referendum on the future of carbon taxes, cap-and-trade or any other carbon pricing system meant to make people buck up for their emissions profile.Entitled, appropriately enough, the Get it Done Act, the legislation will be tabled in the spring session of the legislature later this month.“This new law will guarantee that no provincial government can force a costly carbon tax on the people of Ontario without ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear,” Ford said. “With the Bank of Canada’s high interest rates and the cost of living still so high, it’s never been more important to keep costs down for people and businesses,” he added. .“I’ve always said, the carbon tax is the worst tax. It increases the cost of everything.“Doug Ford.“I’ve always said, the carbon tax is the worst tax. It increases the cost of everything. We need to protect Ontario workers and families from the high cost of a carbon tax and we urge the federal government to do the same.”In a news release, the Ontario government said it continues to urge the federal government to apply the same carve out on home heating that was provided to Atlantic Canadian provinces or to eliminate the federal carbon tax entirely.While taking questions from reporters, Ford also said the province intends to eliminate the requirement for drivers to re-register their vehicles each year, though he didn't say when he expects that change to be implemented.In compliance with the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, two forms of carbon pricing currently exist in Ontario: the Emissions Performance Standards (EPS) program for industrial emitters, and the federal fuel charge, which increases the cost of various types of transportation and heating fuels used by households and enterprises, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and propane.
