TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the province to immediately stop plans for a cap and trade tax grab, announced today by Premiere Kathleen Wynne. At a Monday morning news conference, Premier Wynne unveiled plans to establish a cap-and-trade deal with Quebec and California.

“This carbon tax is a cash grab, pure and simple,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn. “With a $10.9 billion deficit, and $280 billion provincial debt, Premier Wynne is looking to Ontarians to pay for her economic mismanagement in the name of green policy.”

Premier Wynne reportedly expects to raise between $1 billion to $2 billion selling carbon credits under the cap-and-trade tax.

“Cap and trade schemes have proven rife with fraud and abuse. Whether it is theft of credits through hacking, Ponzi schemes, or financial fraud, this complex and cumbersome system is all wrong for Ontario,” said Van Geyn.

Cap-and-trade is a form of carbon tax that raises the prices of all consumer goods and services. Instead of seeing increased prices at the pump or on other types of fuel, the government sets arbitrary limits for carbon emissions by businesses and then forces those businesses to buy ‘carbon credits’ if they emit more than their allotment. The price of these carbon credits is passed down to the consumers, which increases the price of goods and services produced using energy.