Budget 2020 Discussions with Dr. Dianne Saxe

Budget 2020 with Dr. Dianne Saxe

Dr. Dianne Saxe:
Dr. Dianne Saxe is one of Canada’s most respected environmental lawyers, and was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario 2015 to 2019. She was appointed unanimously by all MPPs to report to the Legislature on Ontario’s environmental, energy and climate performance, and to be the guardian of Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights. Dr. Saxe is now heading Saxe Facts, a business providing strategic advice and information on climate, energy and environment.

SaxeFacts.com
dsaxe@saxefacts.com
416.962.5882
Twitter: @envirolaw1

PowerPoint
Here is the PowerPoint Presentation with hyperlinks to help you write your recommendations:
Dr Dianne Saxe comments on the budget

Your Right to Comment
It is your right as Ontarians to comment on government decisions affecting the environment under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. It is also our right as Canadians to give input under Article 6 of the UNFCCC and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement.

Gratitude
As citizens in a functioning democracy at the time of this global climate emergency, we thank you in advance for exercising your rights to comment on legislation and Dr. Saxe for sharing her immense wisdom and time with us.

Gentle Reminder
To our volunteers please do not forget to enter field reports under “Letters Submitted to …”

The Ontario Budget 2020 Submissions 
The deadline to submit ideas for the Ontario budget is February 11, 2020.  Before you start your submissions, note first the instructions from the government. Space is limited. Dr. Saxe role-modeled in her presentation how to be concise and persuasive: https://www.ontario.ca/page/2020-budget-consultations.

Canada Budget 2020 Submissions too?
Hey, while you are at it, perhaps make a second submission for the Federal 2020 Budget, too. The government reported that they are on a tight deadline for pre-budget consultations, and while there is no official closing date, submissions should be made as soon as possible. You can submit your ideas online or by email at budget2020@canada.ca. Please use the hashtag #YourBudget on social media.

Game Changing Announcement by Black Rock Investments
As  you consider your submission, note that on the same day as this presentation, January 14, 2020, the world’s largest investment company, BlackRock, valued at about $7 trillion dollars,  made a blockbuster announcement regarding climate change. Dr. Saxe mentioned it several times on the call.

‘In the near future … there will be a significant reallocation of capital,’ CEO of BlackRock Larry Fink said.

Everything is Connected
The evidence is clear that we need carbon pricing to save the planet but carbon pricing can’t do it alone. Thus, when Dr. Saxe asked us how she could help us at Citizens’ Climate Lobby we suggested that she share some sage advice with us on what Ontarians should be considering when they give submissions online for the Ontario Budget. By giving us the big picture, this will enhance the submissions to the government.

Recommendation for CCLers
The recommendation is for CCLers to submit data to support carbon fee and dividend and then pick one or two other policies to include in their submissions. By having original and well thought out submissions, this will show the government that people are not cut and pasting answers and this will make the government more likely to take the submissions seriously.

Test Your Favourite Climate Policy on the Policy Simulators:

• ENROADS https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/en–roads/
• Pembina https://www.pembina.org/pub/try-out-your-climate-policy-ideas

Paying for your favourite other policies
Nearly half of Canadians are within one paycheck of financial disaster. Thus, most Canadians cannot bear any more new taxes. Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada since 2015 has promoted using other specific sources of revenue to pay for the  low-carbon transition. You can find those recommendations on page 13 of the  CCL Canada LASER Talks Booklet (August 2019).

In August, the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada released their Budget 2020 recommendations for a tax overhaul to be in alignment with transiton to a low carbon economy. Canada’s Tax System has not had an overhaul in over 50 years. They made a series of recommendations that could help pay for the low carbon transition, too.  https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/canada/2019-08-12-budget-2020-recommendations

Insurance Costs and Revenue-Neutral Carbon Pricing
Discussed on the call was the rising home insurance costs and risks which the consumer is bearing. In September 2019, the  Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) released striking new data demonstrating the urgent need for new investments in local climate adaptation—and the areas where that investment is needed most. The consumer must be protected from all the rising costs associated with the climate crisis and that is yet another reason to keep carbon pricing revenue neutral and for the government to act NOW. Jeepers. We are in an emergency people.

What else you can do with your submissions?

• Save what you wrote in a Word file and forward the information to your local Parliamentarians both provincially and federally.
• Submit it as a letter to the editor.
• Be sure to record you field reports CCLers.

CCL’s Official Talking Points and Official Lobbying Asks
Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s official talking points are found in our Media Releases and Laser Talks. Our official lobbying asks are  found in our “Leave Behinds“.  Here are the most recent Leave Behinds determined collectively by our members:  CCL Ontario Leave Behind  (March 2019) and CCL Canada Federal Leave Behind (May 2019). We are citizen lobbyists and we use the work of experts to guide our amazing volunteers in their climate advocacy work.

CCL’s Core Value of Integrity 
We are prepared and do our research. Our approach is thoughtful & thorough. We consult experts and use data. We are open to new information; in fact we solicit opposing opinions. We refine our solutions to make them better. We follow up when we are asked. We keep on.

Support for Carbon Pricing 
The Canadian Mining Association, and the Canadian Medical Association are among the many organizations that endorse carbon pricing. In the USA, 3508 economists have endorsed the Carbon Dividends model of pricing carbon including 27 Nobel Prize winners and economic advisors to both Republican and Democrat Presidents.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Since 2010, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada has been advocating for Carbon Fee and Dividend: an incrementally rising price on carbon pollution where 100% of the fees collected are returned to citizens.

Technical issue
You may have noticed that there was script running along the bottom of the page that was not very accurate. We were unable to turn that off and apologize for the distraction.