Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Meeting with the Frontenac Law Association
Kingston, Ontario

(Check against delivery)

Thanks very much for that kind introduction — and thank you for inviting me.

Since our election back in October 2003, we have had an ambitious green agenda.

We’ve put policies and programs in place to protect our drinking water … to reduce toxics in our environment … build a culture of conservation … and move the province forward on waste management … and much more.

But I’d also like to talk about how these environmental initiatives are tied together—and about a couple of the fundamental themes that provide us with the public policy “glue” for the actions we’re taking.

Number one on our list of priorities is climate change. Premier McGuinty is passionate about this issue. He’s called it the challenge of our generation—and he’s asked me to make climate change our top environmental priority.

The debate is over. Climate change is here and we better deal with it ASAP.

It’s widely accepted by scientists that the effects are being felt most profoundly in the north, including Ontario’s Hudson Bay lowlands.

Recent weather in places like the Caribbean, Louisiana and Texas … or even here in Ontario may be harbingers of things to come.

Climate change will affect our forests and our wetlands … our farmers’ fields and our factory floors. It poses a real threat to our quality of life.

Clearly, all governments have a responsibility to take action on climate change. We are determined to lead.

To guide our actions, we developed Go Green: Ontario’s Action Plan on Climate Change which laid out a range of actions that will help green Ontario’s economy … reduce our carbon footprint … protect the environment … and build a more prosperous and sustainable future.

Go Green is a five-point plan that gives us a comprehensive framework for action:

• It sets out tough targets for reducing Ontario’s GHG emissions.
• It calls for an investment of $17.5-billion in public transit—the largest such investment in Canadian history — 52 projects adding 900 kilometres of transit across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
• It includes more than a billion dollars in investment for creating new jobs in the green economy.
• It includes long-term targets that will double the amount of electricity we get from renewable sources by 2025.
• And it includes a whole range of measures that are designed to help Ontario grow in ways that are more sensible and sustainable over the longer term.

As I said earlier, climate change is here, and it’s already beginning to have an impact.

Models show that even if we took extreme action today reducing greenhouse gases, we would not be able to avoid significant change in our climate.

And so part of dealing with the problem involves adapting our society to the effects we cannot change.

That is why our government has established the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation.

The panel is led by some of the world’s leading climate change scientists—and they will be providing us with information and advice on how we can adjust to the impacts of greenhouse gases already in our atmosphere.

Our Go Green Action Plan gives us a framework—and a whole range of actions are coming out of it.

We’re phasing out the use of coal-fired electricity by 2014— the largest single GHG reduction measure in North America.

But today it’s still only one per cent of the total

Coal-fired energy plants are responsible for one-sixth of the power produced in Ontario.

We need to review and rebuild our nuclear plants. They can provide one-half of all energy needed in Ontario.

At the same time, we’re building more hydro power capacity … new gas-fired cogeneration plants … new solar and wind energy facilities … and looking to harness more of Ontario’s enormous potential for bio-energy.

Through our internationally acclaimed Greenbelt Act, we’re protecting 1.8-million acres of sensitive farmland and green space in a band around Lake Ontario that stretches from Peterborough to Niagara.

At the same time, we’re ensuring that new developments are more compact and transit-friendly — with a better mix of housing, jobs and public amenities.

New Planning Act:

• greater local authority
• greater control over streetscape, building design and materials
• housing for green developments.

And because our forests act as “sinks” to soak up carbon, we’re committed to planting 50 million new trees in southern Ontario by 2020.

We’re also taking action to protect at least 225,000 square kilometres of the Far North Boreal region.

To show leadership, the government is greening its operations — by reducing our electricity consumption, building greener, more efficient office space and using smaller, more efficient vehicles.

We’re also cutting red tape for green projects — through measures such as a new, six-month limit on EAs for public transit.

We’ve created the Climate Change Secretariat — reporting directly to the Premier — to coordinate the government’s climate change activities, and to make sure we meet our targets and stay on track.

Our government recognizes the immense challenge of climate change and we also know it is going to take a comprehensive, collaborative approach — one that involves every ministry, all levels of government, large and small businesses in every sector, as well as individuals, families and communities.

And climate change is simply the largest among the many important environmental issues we face today.

As I mentioned earlier, for example, our government is working hard to ensure that everyone in Ontario has access to safe, clean drinking water.

Protecting our sources of drinking water is the centerpiece of our Clean Water Act —19 source protection committees are now at work across the province.

Through these and other key pieces of legislation, we’ve made tremendous progress in protecting the quality and quantity of our water resources … from protecting local water at the source … to protecting the Great Lakes and other major watersheds.

We’ve set ambitious targets for recycling, for municipal household and special wastes, electronic (ewaste) and used tires.

As Thomas Friedman says, we have to eliminate the concept of waste.

We have also taken steps to reduce the number of toxic materials such as pesticides that are released to the environment.

We’ve established tough new standards for harmful pollutants, and we’re working with Ontario’s industries to go beyond our regulatory requirements, and reduce their environmental impact even further.

I want to share with you a couple of the fundamental principles and themes that give our actions both unity and coherence.

One of the major themes that pulls our environmental actions together is the notion that the environment is a shared responsibility — that in one way or another, we’re all involved … and that it is our actions, large and small, that really count.

In fact, this is not a new theme. Promoting corporate and individual responsibility for the world we live in has been a major theme from Day One of the environmental movement.

It’s just as true today as it was back then.

The difference today, I think, is that an increasing majority of people not only believe this, but also that they’re starting to change their behaviour accordingly.

Higher fuel costs go a long way to explaining the fact that car lots today are full of trucks and SUVs that people no longer want. But if the price of gasoline went back to 50 cents a litre, would everyone suddenly rush out to buy a larger, less efficient vehicle?

I don’t think so.

People everywhere have started to embrace their responsibility for the environment. And although we need to keep hammering away at this theme, I think it’s fair to say that, as a society, we’ve come a long way.

There’s another key theme that provides even stronger glue for the actions we’re taking to protect the environment. And this is the fact that environmental well-being and economic health are really just two parts of the same equation.

A healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand in hand.

It is not about the environment vs. the economy. It’s about a new green economy.

In fact, building a greener, more sustainable economy is not only the right thing to do—it has become an economic imperative.

Some of the world’s most progressive and forward-thinking businesses have already made this connection.

And if we want our economy to be strong and prosperous, and if we want to be competitive in the future, we need to get religion on this subject—and start spreading the gospel to every business and institution and every home in Ontario.

We need to go green. It’s just as simple—or if you like, just as complex—as that.

Ontario is already a recognized leader for our support of innovative environmental technologies, processes and products.

Our environment industry contributes almost $8-billion a year to the provincial economy, and we’re approaching the $1-billion mark in environmental exports.

We have close to 60,000 individuals working in Ontario’s green sector. And these people and businesses are driving our future economy in greener and more sustainable directions.

The world is hungry for innovative green technologies that can help address climate change. And slowly but surely, we’re moving to a lower-carbon economy — to a way of life with a lower environmental impact — one that can be sustained over the longer term.

It also seems likely that environmental actions will be a major catalyst for the next great wave of human innovation. And those actions may well be a key factor that separates governments and businesses into two groups—those who are leaders in the green economy, and those who lag behind.

We are determined to position Ontario on the leading edge.

We are committed to doing what it takes to get us there—not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the only clear path to a successful future.

Government must lead — and our government is providing that leadership. But we can’t fight climate change alone. We need every sector, every community and every individual to do their part — because everyone has a role to play.

It is important for us to understand the challenges. But we also need to see the opportunities for what they are — as steps we can take to build a stronger, greener, more durable economy and a better, brighter future.

Getting there will require nothing less than our very best efforts.

We must make those efforts — for the sake of Ontario, its future and its people … and for the generations yet to come.

Thank you.

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