Ontario Environment Minister Says His Party Has Failed On Climate, Defends Plan Anyway

TORONTO Ontarios environment minister says his own party has failed to come up with ideas to fight climate change and then immediately pivoted to defend his governments climate plan Thursday.

I think what has happened is the Conservative party has remained silent on the climate change initiative and has not really given forth ideas that are really needed to move forward, Minister Jeff Yurek told reporters at Queens Park.

Asked if he meant the federal Conservative party or his own party, Yurek said: I only speak for our party, the Progressive Conservatives in Ontario. We need to be more involved and more engaged in this fight ... and were going to do that.

On Wednesday, Ontarios auditor general said the provincial government s climate plan isnt based on sound evidence , doesnt include enough detail and is unlikely to meet its own emissions reduction targets.

Watch: Ontario premier says hes so proud of cancelling wind turbines. Story continues after video.

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Yurek responded Wednesday, saying his governments plan was a draft that would continue to evolve in order to meet its targets. On Thursday, he called that same plan ambitious.

The auditor general came out with a similar report in 2016 on the Liberals climate plan and thats the issue that we need to talk about here, Yurek said. Its going to be hard work. Not one party has a solution for climate change.

He said he wants the fight to be non-partisan and is committed to working with anyone who has an idea.

But Peter Tabuns, the NDP climate change critic, says he hasnt heard from Yurek since he took over the environment ministry in June .

If you are tearing down renewable energy and ripping up renewable energy contracts and if youre tearing out charging stations for electric vehicles, then I dont care if you talk to me every day of the week, Tabuns told HuffPost Canada Thursday. Youre undermining climate action and youre helping make this crisis more profound.

He said this government has been denying climate change and delaying action since they took power in 2018.

Finally, the politics has caught up with them. Its damaging them and theyre responding to the damage to them and not the damage to our society.

He said the government has shown where it stands by voting against his bill to hold fossil fuel producers liable for climate change-related damage and by making Greg Rickford, who called a climate denial website one of his favourite publications, Minister of Energy and appointing Joe Oliver, who said climate change will make living in Canada more comfortable , to the board of the energy system operator.

They havent been silent at all. Theyve been aggressively anti-environment and anti-climate action.