Calling it bad policy, North Bay-based Biomass North Development Centre is disappointed with the Doug Ford Government cancelling Cap and Trade and dismantling the GreenON Fund.

Executive Director Dawn Lambe says Ontario can expect long term economic pain and loss because of the moves.

She says climate change is a direct threat to Ontario’s prosperity and the well-being of Ontarians.

Another issue is the lack of a plan moving forward.

“That’s what causes us the greatest concern, it’s not just the immediate economic impact, it’s the long-term economic impact of this policy decision and the fact that there is nothing cogent to replace it,” Lambe says.

She also says with the cancellation of the GreenON Fund, comes the cancellation of the Modern Wood Heat Pilot initiative, wasting years of effort and investment that was on the cusp of coming to fruition.

Locally sourced wood pellets would’ve been used for heating with innovative cleantech furnaces and boilers.

Lambe details what’s next.

“It’s been a bit of a gut punch, we’re actually just now actively working to figure out how we can keep the ball rolling with the sudden change in policy and the sudden change in attitudes from down south, for the need for renewable heat and the need for renewable energy, I think it comes down to educating the policy-makers,” she says.

The centre says pretending human-caused climate change doesn’t exist, doesn’t make it any less real.

 

File photo: Queens Park photo courtesy www.citynews.ca

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