Ontario’s eco-fee hangover

Last summer Ontario’s Liberal government delivered consumers a new green stealth tax, on the same day they launched the unpopular HST.

But they were caught out by the instant consumer backlash. The new taxes were called ‘eco-fees’ and the government first suspended them, then axed them altogether. Environment Minister John Gerretsen lost his job over the mess.

Good news for consumers and tax-payers, right? Wrong.

The organization responsible for managing eco-fees, Stewardship Ontario, is unhappy the government left them swinging in the breeze as soon as voters balked at the new tax and has presented the Ontario Government with an $18 million claim for expenses:

The bill from Stewardship Ontario to taxpayers includes a charge of $8 to $10 million for research and development of the programs; legal fees; marketing campaigns, and the purchase of a $3 million computer system designed to track an array of household hazardous waste materials through the recycling process.

A separate fee of $8.6 million covers the payments that Stewardship Ontario made to the municipalities that collected recycled materials since the cancellation. The ministry asked Stewardship Ontario to continue managing the collection — now paid by government dollars — until it finds a replacement program.

You could argue the $8.6 million is for services rendered, but why are taxpayers being asked to reimburse an industry-funded group up to $10 million for losses made after a green-washing scam was scrapped?

If this sort of thing sounds familiar to Ontario citizens, it should. Just last month consumers were told they’d have to endure price increases on energy to cover fines levied against utilities found guilty of usury.

Even when Ontario consumers win, they lose.