TORONTO -- Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will officially begin winding down all green programs funded through the province's cap-and-trade system this week.
In a statement released Tuesday, Ford says he has revoked the regulation that kept the carbon pricing system in place.
The Progressive Conservative leader, who was officially sworn in as premier Friday, had promised that cancelling cap and trade would be his first order of business.
Ford says the province will nonetheless honour contracts and orders that have already been signed for projects funded by cap and trade, such as energy efficient insulation and window retrofits.
Some rebates for energy-efficient renovations that were financed through cap-and-trade revenues -- such as the GreenON rebate program -- were already being phased out before Ford officially took office last week.
The premier says the government will decide on a case-by-case basis whether some initiatives previously funded by the program will be paid for using tax base revenue.
He says those decisions will factor in his overall plan for the province and the results of an upcoming value-for-money audit of government spending.
Ford's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday but the premier said in the statement that he believes scrapping cap and trade will put money back in Ontarians' pockets.
"I promised that the party with taxpayers' dollars was over and that this would include scrapping the cap-and-trade carbon tax slush fund. Today we are keeping that promise," he said.
The government's website does not list contact information for the newly appointed minister of the environment or any other cabinet members.