Peace and Environment News* April 1996
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Peace and Environment News * April 1996 |
by Carla Brown and Teressa Trollope
Every environmental activist needs a toolkit to help get the job done. In Ontario since 1994, environmentalists have had a tool called the Environmental Registry. This is a computerized bulletin board of all the actions the Ontario government is taking that could affect the environment.
When the Registry was set up, government ministries were required to list on it any action they were considering that related to the environment.
Now the Conservative government has changed the rules so that the various ministries don't have to put their actions on this list at all. The government says that keeping the Registry updated could affect their plans to cut spending.
If you have never used this registry, should you care? It seems like just one more thing in the big list of things the Ontario government is cutting. How will this cut affect local environmental action?
Meg Sears, a local activist on wetlands, says there really is no other way to keep track of what the government and industry are doing in your backyard.
"Otherwise, we'd just have to call up a bureaucrat and bug them," she says. "We would have to go on fishing expeditions once a week, and you can't usually get hold of bureaucrats anyway."
Until now, when the government or industry wanted to do something that could affect the environment, they had to put it on the Registry. Industry also had to give information, such as how they dealt with on-site waste disposal or what new pesticides they were testing.
With each proposal on the registry, the public has had a certain length of time to respond, usually thirty days. If it is this difficult to find out any information, that thirty days will be barely enough.
Sears describes how she found out about the Ecocreek golf course that was going to be built on a wetland in her area. Without the Registry, she would not have been aware of this situation in time to oppose it.
Eva Ligeti, the Environmental Commissioner, is responsible for the Registry. Her office is supposed to be an impartial observer of government actions. In January, her office condemned this disabling of the Registry.
She said that if the government is not forced to put their actions on the registry, then the Environmental Bill of Rights doesn't really have any force. This Bill is a kind of contract between Ontarians and their government to protect the environment.
It's not only environmental activists who will be affected by the loss of the Registry. Some entrepreneurs use the registry too. One company which recycles used motor oil noticed that the Ministry of Environment had given 400 approvals for burning used oil. The company made submissions to the Minister for recycling the motor oil. In this way, the registry encourages companies to have more environmentally sound policies. As Sears says, "business conducted openly is good business."
David McNicoll is an activist who lobbies to improve local Official Plans. He knows from experience how important it is for policy-making processes to be open.
"[The change] technically doesn't change the goals [of the Bill of Rights]," he says. "It just makes it much more difficult to participate."
"It simplifies the system but makes it much less accountable."
In the long run, Sears says that not maintaining the Registry could cost the government more money. The Registry allows the government to gather lots of free advice on their policies from people who make it their business to know about these issues.
"The costs of environmental cleanup are staggering, even related to the provincial debt," says Sears.
Many environmental groups have condemned this action by the provincial government. In particular, the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) notes that this is a clear regression.
"This regulation is a clear prelude to the government's dismantling of Ontario's environmental safety net," says Richard Lindgren, staff lawyer at CELA.
For more information, contact the Office of the Environmental Commissioner, Suite 605, 1075 Bay St. Toronto, ON M5S 2B1, phone (416) 325-3377 or 1-800-701-6454, fax (416) 325-3370.
Converted April 11, 2000 - Lg
To follow up on this article, contact the author or the organizations/individuals mentioned; do not contact the Peace and Environment Resource Centre - we cannot provide follow up or contact information. This article is an archival copy of the printed one in the Peace and Environment News (PEN). Viewpoints expressed should not be taken to represent the opinions of the Peace and Environment Resource Centre, the PEN, or our supporters.
