Ontario budget an ‘abdication of responsibility’

Critics say province is unprepared to help communities navigate the effects of climate change

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 climatefriendly 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 tool box.”

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.

In a statement, the environment minister’s press secretary mentioned a number of the budget’s initiatives, including green bonds to finance “extreme-weather resistant infrastructure” and clean steel production.

“We’ve proven that you can protect the environment without a costly, job-killing carbon tax,” said Alex Catherwood, press secretary to Minister Andrea Khanjin.

Governments in Quebec and British Columbia, meanwhile, made climate change a feature of their recent budgets. Quebec’s budget included a section on environment and climate change adaptation, paired with a $127.5-million investment over five years. The B.C. budget pledged $1 billion to climaterelated initiatives, including bolstered wildfire response.

The Ontario budget set base funding for forest firefighting at $134.9 million this year, $81 million less than it spent overall in 2023.

But Catherwood said it would be “completely inaccurate” to suggest the forecasted spending was a budget cut, saying the government would “spare no expense in ensuring the safety of people, property and communities.”

Catherwood said base funding for emergency fire preparedness had nearly doubled to $135.9 million since 2018, with additional support for firefighter retention and recruitment.

It comes as experts say climate change is intensifying wildfires and warn 2024 could rival last year’s season.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner says the budgeted money, however, shows “that we have a Ford government that’s woefully unprepared for the climate crisis.”

“If you talk to wildland firefighters, they will tell you that the money is much better spent if we properly prepare ahead of time rather than reacting after, in last year’s case, a million acres are on fire,” Schreiner told reporters this week.

The government’s fiscal watchdog, and its own climate assessment report, have warned that climate change threatens to upend everything from infrastructure to food security.

Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office reported in November that the dangers of a changing climate could add more than $4 billion per year to the cost of maintaining Ontario’s public infrastructure. The report said the province and municipalities could cut that cost by proactively making hospitals, schools, stormwater pipes and other public infrastructure more resilient to extreme heat and rainfall.

‘‘ We’ve proven that you can protect the environment without a costly, job-killing carbon tax.

ALEX CATHERWOOD PRESS SECRETARY TO THE ENVIRONMENT MINISTER