'Hold cap and trade,' says Sudbury Chamber

The Sudbury Chamber of Commerce is asking the provincial government to put a hold on cap and trade, the carbon pricing system aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions and slowing climate change.

The uncertainty about exactly how it will work is making business owners anxious, said Sudbury Chamber president Debbi Nicholson.

"Part of that concern is simply because they don't know what [cap and trade is] going to mean," Nicholson said, "they know it's going to have a huge impact, they just don't know what that impact is going to be yet."

Bigger companies will be filling the pinch, too, the Chamber of Commerce said in a release.

The Chamber estimates that "cap and trade could cost upwards of$10 million per year in the first compliance period for a major mining company in the province."

Even with cap and trade expected to eatinto companies' profits, Nicholson commends the province for its move.

"But at the same time, you can't do that and risk the business community, risk investment, risk jobs and just bear it all on the back of business," she said.

Nicholson suggests delaying cap and trade until 2018 so businesses can better prepare for increases to the cost of gasoline and natural gas.