Glen R. Murray, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Ontario is moving forward with a cap and trade program to limit greenhouse gas pollution, reward innovative companies, generate opportunities for investment in Ontario and create jobs while moving to a low-carbon economy.

Today, Ontario posted its draft cap and trade regulatory proposal on the Environmental and Regulatory registries for a 45-day public and stakeholder comment period. This comment period builds on years of consultation with industry and business on the design of a robust, accountable and transparent cap and trade program.

A cap and trade program is a proven way to reduce GHG emissions and fight climate change by giving polluters an incentive to cut emissions. It creates a price on carbon emissions by limiting the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that can come from the economy (the cap) and then allowing those covered by the cap to trade among themselves (the trade) in a flexible and cost-effective way.