Ontario's premier, Kathleen Wynne, has signed a cap and trade deal on emissions with the province of Quebec. The deal brings about 75 percent of Canada's population living in jurisdictions with a price on carbon emissions.The plan is to reduce emissions. Under a cap and trade system, businesses will have a cap or limit to their greenhouse gas emissions. If they are under quota they can sell their credits to companies that are not. Those that are over will have to buy credits.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the deal between Quebec and Ontario will be good for all Canadians.
"What Ontario does, matters. What Ontario and Quebec do together matters to the country and matters to the continent," Wynne said.
Quebec has already adopted a cap and trade system. It signed on to the western climate initiative seven years ago with California. Wynne says the cost of doing nothing about greenhouse gas emissions is too high and many companies pollute the atmosphere for free, but everyone pays the costs.
"Over the next six months, Ontario will work with people, communities, and businesses to design the best approach for the environment, the economy and Ontario families," she added.
Wynne's plan, however, is short on details. She says they will come later. Critics say a cap and trade system will drive up the cost of gasoline for consumers. But Wynne says climate change has already created higher costs for society.
In Ottawa, the federal government is opposed to the plan, calling it nothing more than a job-killing tax
