Circling the Drain: The Sorry State of Environmental Protection in Ontario

Author: Brian Roadhouse

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The Ontario Government has been taking a wrecking ball to environmental protection legislation in the province.  Their latest move to restrict the mandate of Conservation Authorities and to allow the Minister of Environment to override decisions made by local Conservation Authorities is yet another attack on environmental protection.  The provision to allow Ministerial override is similar to another tactic of the Ontario Government: the use of Minister’s Zoning Orders to override environmental regulations and municipal zoning rules protecting sensitive natural areas.  These measures centralize authority over environment and land use planning at Queen’s Park.  They allow Provincial Ministers to ignore the scientific and professional recommendations of Conservation Authorities and municipal planning departments, and approve projects that create risks for wetlands, waterways, forests, and for the people who live near them.  This past summer, the Ontario Government also weakened provisions in the Environmental Assessment Act that will have the effect of exempting significant commercial projects from a scientific review of their impact on the environment.

Alarming Findings and Shortcomings for Ontario’s Nature

The 2020 report by the Auditor General of Ontario Bonnie Lysyk on the environment presents a disturbing account of Government practices.  She found serious shortcomings in the operations of the Environment, Natural Resources, and other Ministries including:

• Consistent and significant non-compliance by the Environment and other Ministries with the Environmental Bill of Rights Act, resulting in a lack of transparency and public input on important environmental proposals;
• No new provincially protected areas added to the province’s existing parks network, reduced resources for management and science-related activities for existing parks, and a lack of engagement with First Nations in Ontario’s Far North to develop land use plans and Indigenous-led protected areas;  
• Inadequate monitoring and assessment of environmental issues such as water conservation, invasive species, and pollinator health, and a lack of performance indicators relating to the state of Ontario’s natural resources or the environmental sustainability of agriculture.

The Auditor General’s report demonstrates how the Government’s latest moves to weaken environmental legislation are taking place within a larger context of mismanagement and neglect of environmental protection in the Province.  Altogether, it is a bleak picture.

A Matter of Balance

We all stand to lose from the current Government’s approach to the environment, which is increasingly weighted towards the interests of developers and industry.  We need development in the Province to provide good quality housing and commercial spaces for an expanding population.  But equally, we need to preserve our most sensitive and valuable natural spaces that contribute to our quality of life and well-being.  The current pandemic has highlighted to Ontarians the value of our protected natural areas, especially those near population centres.  Conservation areas, hiking trails, beaches and parks have seen unprecedented use this year as people turn to nature for recreation and relief from this long period of lockdown.  The pandemic has shown we need more, not less nature.

I live near a natural area on the Carp Hills west of Ottawa, designated a Provincially Significant Wetland (PSW).  It is home to a number of endangered species and is also a popular hiking area for people from nearby communities.  It has seen a lot of use this year by people looking for relief from the pandemic that spending time in nature provides.  I thought the PSW designation protected this area, and that it would remain a natural resource for the people of my community for generations to come.  With the latest attack by the Ontario Government on environmental protection, I am no longer confident this rich natural area will be safe from development.  How long will it be before the songs of early arriving blackbirds will be replaced by the sound of chainsaws and bulldozers?  This beautiful area, and hundreds of other natural areas across the Province, are now vulnerable to arbitrary Ministerial action to remove their protection.

Eventually this Provincial Government will be gone, and a new one will have to rebuild a system of effective environmental protection and land use planning.  We routinely hear of fresh environmental disasters around the globe.  Climate change and habitat destruction are driving an alarming loss of wildlife and leading to catastrophic events such as wildfires and torrential storms.  Our framework of environmental legislation was intended to help us prevent and mitigate such problems.  This Government’s actions will make it more difficult for us to meet these challenges.  We need a Government that takes protecting the environment seriously.  This will only happen if we, as citizens of Ontario, speak up and demand responsible action by our Government.  Contact your Member of Provincial Parliament, the Premier and opposition leaders to let them know you want better protection of the environment and an expanded network of protected natural areas.  It is time to take a stand. Find your MPP’s contact information online.