Ontario court says the Ford government broke the law when it cancelled cap-and-trade

An Ontario court finds that the Ford government broke the law by scrapping the cap and trade program.

Two out of three judges on a divisional court panel say that Ford’s PC government violated provincial laws by failing to consult the public before scrapping Ontario’s cap-and-trade program as required by the Environmental Bill of Rights.

The decision comes as the result of a legal challenge against the PC government brought forth by Greenpeace Canada and Ecojustice just over one year ago.

The court says while the government broke the law, it won’t force Queen’s park to reinstate it.

The cap-and-trade system was a multi-national agreement between Ontario, Quebec, and California.

The system worked by setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions but allows companies below a certain cap to “trade” their unused allowance to larger polluters.

While the ruling will not bring cap-and-trade back into effect, but advocates are still celebrating it as a victory.