The president of Unifor Local 444 feels reassured after meeting with Ontario's minister of the environment about the province's proposed cap and trade plan.
Officials from Unifor, including Dino Chiodo and the United Steelworkers, sat down with Glen Murray this week to talk about how the program will affect manufacturing. Details of the plan to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions came out in the provincial budget last month.
Chiodo says he's satisfied it won't put Ontario manufacturers at a disadvantage.
"There's four years of which there will be no penalties for companies to actually work through a process to get involved," he says. "It doesn't matter where you go, whether it be Canada or the United States, eventually it's going to be everywhere."
It could even make companies money.
"This is an opportunity for companies that do already have programs in place, like some of our big corporations," he says. "They'll be able to sell the credits if they hit their targets."
Ontario's plan will join similar cap and trade programs in California and Quebec. Finance Minister Charles Sousa says it could generate $1.9-billion annually.
