With budget mostly silent on climate change, critics say Ontario lacks plan to adapt
Global News
The Ontario budget's failure to directly address climate change represents a "gross abdication of responsibility" by the government, some critics argue.
The Ontario budget’s failure to directly address climate change represents a “gross abdication of responsibility” by the government, some critics argue, saying the province rapidly needs to do more to adapt to a changing climate.
The budget presented Tuesday cites investments in climate-friendly public transit, electric vehicle manufacturing and conservation, but critics say it’s mostly silent on how the government will specifically help communities mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to the realities of it.
“This is a gross, abdication of responsibility because the climate crisis continues to worsen,” said Keith Brooks, a programs director with Environmental Defence, an environmental advocacy organization.
“Many of the tools that need to be used to fix the climate crisis are in the provincial toolbox.”
The 200-page budget makes only two references to climate change, both in sections about the sustainable bond program, which the government uses to raise money to finance projects considered environmentally friendly.
The federal carbon price, on the other hand, came up 10 times in the finance minister’s budget speech as he criticized Ottawa’s measure.
As last summer’s extreme heat and wildfires gave way to the warmest winter on record, threatening tourism sectors and melting winter roads to remote First Nations, critics say the government needs to show it’s better prepared.
“This is not a government that is serious about dealing with one of the great issues of our time,” said Gideon Forman, an Ontario climate change and transportation policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation.
