The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 15 ,2 02 1 | 24 Get the Toronto Star weekend home delivery for just $399* AWEEK FOR12 MONTHS YOU'LL GET: • Saturday and Sunday home delivery • Starweek Magazine print edition • Complimentary 7-day ePaper edition • Complimentary 7-day access to thestar.com website *Plus HST. This introductory offer is not available to existing Toronto Star subscribers. Save 46% off the newsstand rate for Saturday and Sunday delivery. This offer includes Starweek Magazine. The New York Times International Weekly or Book Review sections are not included. This offer is for a 12-month term and includes complimentary access to thestar.com and the Toronto Star ePaper edition. Complimentary access is available to Toronto Star home-delivery subscribers with an active account in good standing. If you choose to cancel your print account, or your subscription is in arrears, your access to thestar.com and the ePaper edition will be discontinued. The Toronto Star reserves the right to discontinue this offer at any time. Toronto Star delivery will continue after the 12-month introductory period at the regular home-delivery rate then in effect. This offer is a fixed subscription term. If you cancel prior to the end of the term, you will be charged an early cancellation fee equal to amounts otherwise payable for the remainder of the term, plus applicable taxes. The cancellation fee will be charged using the billing method we have on file at the time of cancellation. Please contact customer service at 416-367-4500 to get the regular rate for your area. Payment must be made by credit card only. Credit card payments will be billed monthly. View our subscriber agreement terms at www.thestar.com/ agreement. Toronto Star is committed to protecting your personal information. View our privacy policy at www.thestar.com/privacy. Offer expires July 31, 2021. SAVE 46 % OFFTHE NEWSSTAND RATE SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: tsoffers.ca/deal/comm OR CALL: 416-367-4500 and quote code 2DAYSAVE for weekend home delivery for 12 months Don't sit on your deliveries until it's too late As more and more consumers shop online, you'll need to be prepared for your business' online order boom. The time is right to sign up with Metroland Parcel Services for affordable, trustworthy and dependable last-mile delivery. Visit our website at metrolandparcelservices.ca Scan for more information Canada's minister of en- vironment and climate change, Jonathan Wilkin- son recently addressed the Oakville Chamber of Com- merce during a virtual pre- sentation. So, what is he going to do to combat climate change? Most recently, Wilkin- son pointed to the federal budget, which he said in- vests $17.6 billion into pro- tecting nature, growing the green economy and creat- ing jobs. "We are making major investments in home energy retrofits for house- holds and for large build- ings. The transportation and the building sectors to- gether make up almost half of Canada's emissions, and retooling these sectors is a huge economic opportuni- ty," said Wilkinson. "Based on the climate- related investments made in the budget, plus the work that we are doing with our friends in the United States in the areas of transportation and methane, we have defined pathways to achieving a 36 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030." OK, but the prime minister just announced that Canada will reduce emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. What did the minis- ter have to say about that? Wilkinson said getting to 40 or 45 per cent "is a stretch," but also said this is a target that aligns with what science says people must do to avoid the more devastating consequences of climate change. "I am confident we can achieve this, but we need to do more and move quickly, otherwise we risk not achieving our environmen- tal objectives and losing out on the economic oppor- tunity," said Wilkinson. One part of the budget that may help with this goal is $5 billion for the Net Zero Accelerator Fund, which supports projects like the retooling of the Oakville Ford Assembly Plant. In 2020, the federal gov- ernment announced it would be contributing $295 million to help the assem- bly plant upgrade its equip- ment so it can begin mak- ing electric vehicles. Speaking of the Ford plant, is the Canadian government going to do anything to encourage people to actually buy electric vehicles? Wilkinson said the fed- eral government is provid- ing subsidies of up to $5,000 to those who purchase or lease battery-electric, hy- drogen-fuel cell, and lon- ger-range plug-in hybrid vehicles. He said the government is also building up the elec- tric vehicle infrastructure to make these vehicles more attractive. Wilkinson also said provinces and territories need to be more ambitious and offer their own incen- tives for electric vehicle purchases. He's talking about the need to do more to meet emissions reduction tar- gets. How is the govern- ment going to do that without hurting busi- nesses? Wilkinson said there are programs that focus on helping businesses im- prove the overall energy ef- ficiency of their opera- tions. "Certainly, we under- stand going forward that we will need to continue to evolve some of the pro- gramming to help people make the kinds of changes that will enable them in their business to be more efficient, whether that's the production processes they use, the transportation mechanisms they may use or the efficiency of the buildings in which they op- erate," said Wilkinson. He said the federal gov- ernment is also looking at the makeup of the electric- ity grid in some provinces, noting this also plays a role in the emissions created by both businesses and indi- viduals. With the recent Su- preme Court decision that the federal govern- ment's carbon tax is con- stitutional, what's next when it comes to putting a price on pollution? Wilkinson said the fed- eral government will be providing the provinces and territories with a benchmark for carbon pricing that they will be re- quired to meet in the com- ing months. "The price on pollution is the most economically efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to incent innovation," he said. "The Supreme Court has now settled the consti- tutionality of the issue and I think you can see that re- flected in the fact that the Conservative Party of Can- ada has now said they would impose a carbon tax." NEWS CARBON PRICING BENCHMARK COMING, SAYS CLIMATE CHANGE MINISTER DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson addresses the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. Oakville Chamber photo