Minister's Speech

Statement to the Ontario Legislature by:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Environment Industry Day at Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

(Check against delivery)

Mr. Speaker,

Today is the ninth annual Environment Industry Day at Queen’s Park.

It is sponsored by the Ontario Environment Industry Association.

Since its founding in 1991, ONEIA has been an effective advocate for an industry that is a driving force in protecting the environment and building a strong, sustainable economy in this province.

Ontario’s environment companies make a huge contribution to our quality of life.

They are playing a key role in shaping how our province transforms itself into a strong, sustainable and prosperous economy.

These are companies who have shown us that a strong economy and a healthy environment are not mutually-exclusive goals.

They helped create the new world we live in today — a world where economic growth and prosperity must go hand-in-hand with sound environmental stewardship.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to recognize the members of ONEIA who have joined us today in the gallery.

Please welcome Alex Gill, ONEIA’s Executive Director … Mark Vanderheyden, the chair of ONEIA … Skip Willis, the Chair of Environment Industry Day … and the members of the Ontario Environment Industry Association.

I hope everyone here gets a chance to speak today with our friends from the Ontario Environment Industry Association.  They will be happy to tell you about their progress in bringing leading-edge solutions to Ontario and the rest of the world.

It’s a job they do well.
 
There are more than 2,600 companies in Ontario’s environment industry – mostly the small or medium-size enterprises that are vitally important to the provincial economy.

These companies generate $8 billion in annual revenues and employ over 60,000 people.

It’s a fast-paced sector.

It continues to grow.

And it faces challenges.

The environment industry is affected by the same kind of factors that affect most businesses. 

As one example, the worldwide economic crisis is slowing down activity in many of the sectors that invest heavily in environmental products, technologies and services. 

Some people would have us believe a slower economy should cause us to scale back on environmental protections. 

Mr. Speaker, our government believes the opposite is true. 

Now is exactly the time for strong environmental measures.

As a society, we are beginning to understand that investments in protecting our environment are investments in our future. 

Our government believes the environment industry is integral in making the transition to a green and sustainable economy.

We are working to ensure Ontario companies are able to create highly-skilled and well-paying jobs in clean and renewable energy sources … energy and water conservation … waste management … and the creation of products in ways that don’t harm our water, air and land.

This is why our ministry is a strong supporter of Ontario’s environment industry.

We work with ONEIA in a variety of ways – from co-sponsoring seminars and workshops … to providing promotional materials for the industry … and working together on Environment Industry Day.

We are committed to making Ontario a world leader in green industry and we are working to support the environmental industry with a broad range of initiatives.

That includes our Open for Business Strategy, helping to reduce the regulatory burden on Ontario businesses … our proposed Toxics Reduction Strategy, which would, if passed, allow the investment of $24 million over three years to support smaller businesses in reducing toxics … and our Emerging Technology Fund, recently announced in our Budget, which will invest $250 million over five years to drive start-up investment in green technology companies and other high-tech businesses.

Mr. Speaker, the Ontario Environment Industry has tremendous long-term potential. 

We are taking action across government through a wide range of initiatives and ministries to ensure our environment industry can capitalize on growing world demand for its products and services.

I want to thank ONEIA and its members for their efforts, and for all they do to improve the quality of life we enjoy in Ontario.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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