Cap and trade to cost city taxpayers an extra $7.1 million

torontosun.com
By Shawn Jeffords
Jan. 22, 2017

The cash-strapped city will have to fork over an extra $7.1 million in fees to the provincial government next year to cover increases ushered in by Ontario’s cap-and-trade program.

A briefing note from city officials says Toronto taxpayers will have to cough up the additional cash in 2017, and likely much more in the future, because of the rise in fuel costs. The largest expense is the TTC’s fleet, which faces an additional $4.3 million under cap-and-trade.

“The potential impact on energy and fuel costs will likely increase as the emission target is tighter, a declining credit allowance for large emitters and the price of carbon continues to increase,” the briefing note says. “A natural gas industry source has indicated that the increase will be about 5% plus (cost of living) each year.”

The province’s climate change program took effect Jan. 1. It aims to cut emissions with fees imposed upon residents, businesses and municipalities.

Councillor Stephen Holyday said the program impacts agencies, like the TTC and Toronto Police Service, where the city is already struggling to find savings.

“This is the provincial government forking over costs to the city,” he said. “I don’t expect any relief from them on it and that’s shameful.”

Holyday said the costs are just another way that cap-and-trade will indirectly hit taxpayers. He’d like to see the city’s cap and trade costs addressed by the Ontario government, he said.

“I can’t understand why they aren’t going to be making us whole on this,” he said. “We’re certainly not going to be the only municipality that is going to be suffering with this. It will just add to the frustration of consumers in the province who are already facing cap and trade on their household budgets.”