A bill that would allow Ontario residents to see how much of their money is spent on the government’s cap and trade program has passed second reading.
Bill 146, the Transparency in Gas Pricing Act, was narrowly passed on Thursday at Queen's Park, following a tie vote that was broken by the speaker of the legislature. The bill would require all natural gas companies to clearly disclose how much is going towards the Liberals' cap and trade program on each homeowner's bill.
"People should clearly see what they're paying on every natural gas bill for cap and trade," said Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton, who introduced the bill back in June. "I think this brings accountability as well to the legislature and when people see how much they're paying in taxes and fees it makes politicians more accountable."
McNaughton said the Liberals voted against the bill on Thursday, citing decision of the Ontario Energy Board not to include the cap and trade information.
"Ultimately the government is responsible for these decisions and it's unfortunate that it's taken a piece of legislation to take such a common sense approach," he said. "When you go and buy a barbeque at a hardware store, you expect to see an assembly charge, the delivery charge, and the HST on the bill -- all separate lined items. I think this is very similar."
The bill will now go to committee for further study, before returning to the legislature for third reading and a final vote.