… LISTEN TO PEOPLE
“This is a very real, very sincere consultation,” says Murray. He says he’s been having conversations with people in every sector of the economy. “That’s already been going on and that started with the climate-change consultation several months ago.”
As Murray says, Ontario companies are familiar with carbon pricing from other jurisdictions. They have done their homework. The debate over carbon pricing may be polarized in political debates, but sit down with any CEO and you’re likely to hear a more nuanced take.
The Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, for example, submitted a paper to the government acknowledging that “it is critical to send the right signal to Ontario’s businesses and citizens in order to motivate emission reductions and spur innovation.” The association explained that its preference would be a carbon tax similar to the one in British Columbia, which it says would be more transparent and fair than cap and trade.
But then the government announced it was going with cap and trade. Tricia Anderson, CEO of the association, says, “We did not have a strong sense that our concerns had been considered at all. I hope that does not set the tone for the next phase. Meaningful consultation is key to getting this right.”
Clean Energy Canada put out a report recently about Quebec’s experience called Inside North America’s Largest Carbon Market. It says that Quebec consulted early and often with industry, but that the closed-door nature of some of the meetings created some suspicion.
Merran Smith, director of Clean Energy Canada, says that while transparent and thorough industry engagement is key, so is public engagement. In British Columbia, she says, there is a real sense of pride in the fact that fuel consumption is down and the clean tech sector is thriving.
“This is the new economy,” Smith says. “Canada can play in that sector but we don’t yet have the psychology that that is who we are.”
We did not have a strong sense that our concerns had been considered at all. TRICIA ANDERSON, Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association