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Notes for remarks

by

The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky
Minister of the Environment

to

EECO 2005 Environment & Energy Conference

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
Thursday, May 26, 2005 (9 a.m.)

(Check against delivery)

I am honoured to help kick off this conference.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has asked me to pass along his regards and wishes for a productive conference. We hope you have an enjoyable stay in Toronto and the province of Ontario.

The McGuinty government is proud to sponsor the premier environmental event in Ontario. I want to express our appreciation to all the other sponsors for helping make these three days possible.

My biggest thanks go to John Wiebe (President and CEO – the GLOBE Foundation) and Christopher Henderson (CEO – The Delphi Group).

The GLOBE Foundation and The Delphi Group have put together an agenda that highlights the convergence of environmental responsibility and competitiveness that is taking place in Ontario and around the world.

This is a theme that fits well with efforts now under way at my ministry to transform the way we operate.

I will talk much more about this later, but first I want to tell you a story.

I believe the McGuinty government has a great environmental story. I view it as a triology.

The first volume is our work to clean up the air we breathe.

We are committed to replacing coal-fired generating stations. In fact, the Lakeview Generating Station in Mississauga shut down last month.

We are introducing tough new rules for industrial air pollution that will impose stricter limits on smog-causing pollutants and for the first time control 29 cancer-causing chemicals.

The second volume is our work to protect our land resources.

We have introduced a greenbelt that will save productive farmland from development, curb urban sprawl and ensure future generations can enjoy natural space.

With the Niagara Escarpment and the Oak Ridges Moraine, we have now protected 1.8 million acres of greenspace.

We are encouraging greater diversion of waste from landfills.

We have ensured that the municipal Blue Box program remains sustainable.

The third part of our trilogy is our efforts to protect Ontario’s water.

We are protecting Ontario’s drinking water with unprecedented safeguards at every stage from the source to the tap.

We are developing legislation that will require source water protection plans for watersheds across Ontario.

We have also strengthened the testing, monitoring and treatment of drinking water.

But we know more must be done.

When we were elected to government 18 months ago we inherited an environment ministry that had been slashed to the bone by the previous government.

I know we have to do more than rebuild. We have to transform the way the ministry operates.

Within the ministry I have set up a transformation office that is looking at new approaches.

We are looking at best practices around the world and Ontario has much to learn.

I have told the ministry I want to focus on the highest risks to the environment.

I also want to reduce bureaucratic barriers that frustrate business without protecting the environment.

I want to operate in a transparent way that allows the public and industry to know what we are doing, and why.

When we are done Ontarians will enjoy an environment that is better protected and business will operate in a climate that is clear and predictable.

The idea that we need to modernize the way we do our work will not be news to most of you here.

You have seen the problems first hand. I know that many of you have already been involved in our extensive discussions with stakeholders.

We have paid attention to and carefully considered reports from the Provincial Auditor, the Industrial Pollution Action Team, industry, the OECD and various non-government groups.

One recurring theme is that the ministry is not able to keep up with the demands of a growing industrial sector.

We have more and more emitting facilities, presenting us with big challenges in two areas – approvals and inspections.

We receive a huge number of applications for certificates of approval – about 8,000 per year.

Our average turn-around time is now about six months. We must improve this time. Economic activity is hampered and the environment is not helped.

These problems are structural in nature and do not reflect the efforts of ministry staff. Our staff are as frustrated as anyone by this situation.

On the inspections side, there is one fact we cannot escape. We can only inspect a small fraction of the total number of facilities...and that number is growing by the day.

We are moving to risk-based inspections to focus on operations that present the greatest threat.

We need to differentiate our approach to good and bad environmental performers.

We need to keep good performers in compliance and create pressure on the bad ones to get their environmental act in order.

This means finding ways to ensure compliance without inspecting every facility.

A special challenge is meeting the needs of small businesses.

We also need to use a wider range of instruments, especially economic tools to make the “polluter pays” principle integral to our approach.

Ontario’s Environmental Leaders program recognizes and rewards companies that voluntarily go beyond compliance. These companies exemplify the link between environmental foresight and good economic return.

Last fall, we introduced Bill 133, which proposes environmental penalties for companies that are not complying with their environmental requirements.

If passed, my ministry would be able to impose an environmental penalty against a company within a few days after a spill.

We need a system that encourages compliance quickly and also provides money to compensate those affected. Under Bill 133, money collected via penalties would go to a dedicated community cleanup fund.

Penalties would apply to the 140 regulated facilities that we know pose the greatest threats to our environment.

I have also urged the ministry to focus on developing and using the best science available. Better research into new environmental approaches and technologies are critical to our long-term planning.

Our Best in Science program will raise the profile of the good work our scientists do and allow us to tap into the best from around the world.

This brings me to the options we are considering as part of a new pollution prevention strategy.

At the end of the process, we will have a modernized ministry that provides strong environmental protection, while ensuring the competitiveness of Ontario companies.

It is becoming increasingly clear that we cannot separate these two goals.

We need your input as the experts in the field of environment and competitiveness as we decide how to update our strategies.

We are going to look at ways that we could tailor our approach to regulated industries by potential environmental risk and by performance.

We will examine how our approvals and inspections processes serve their intended purposes.

We are considering alternatives that would allow us to set our sights on the proper targets and get the best possible environmental protection for our efforts.

Our approvals branch is looking at ways to rank projects by complexity and potential environmental consequences.

Complex projects with significant environmental impacts would continue to be subject to MOE approvals.

Alternative approaches could be considered for less complex projects that will have minimal environmental impacts.

For example, permit-by-rule could be useful in some instances by requiring facilities to meet general regulations rather than having to go through the approvals process.

Another potential option is third party certification, where a certified individual – and not the ministry or the proponent – could sign off on certain types of activities.

I stress here that we are not looking at these options for projects that have significant environmental consequences.

These alternatives would enable the Ministry of the Environment to devote its time and resources to the most environmentally significant parts of the regulated community.

This would not only establish a clear link between the approvals process and environmental performance, but would also result in faster turn-around times for approvals.

On the inspection side, I am looking at strategies to ensure that a greater percentage of facilities are inspected every year.

To accomplish this, I want to explore the possibility of creating a tiered enforcement program will look at the past environmental performance of regulated facilities to differentiate good and bad environmental actors.

Our Environmental SWAT Team has found that one of the major reasons for non-compliance is that facility operators do not understand their environmental obligations.

We need better ways to ensure that regulated facilities understand the environmental rules and what is expected of them.

We are also going to examine expanding our use of economic instruments to make the “polluter pays” principle more integral to our overall efforts.

If you pollute our air and water, there should be a cost involved.

With the use of new tools to ensure compliance with environmental requirements, there will be an even greater premium on transparency.

If we make significant use of permit-by-rule, for example, the public will need assurance that those rules will safeguard the environment.

We will be seeking input on the best ways to ensure that the public has access to accurate, timely and understandable information.

As you can see, the Ministry of the Environment has embarked on a process of openness to new and innovative approaches.

We need to look at new ways to handle our approvals and inspections functions.

We will consider new and innovative instruments that go beyond traditional command-and-control approaches.

Our new pollution prevention strategy will have the flexibility we need to improve environmental protection, while providing better service to our clients.

We will become a full partner in promoting the convergence between environmental responsibility and the increasing competitiveness of Ontario companies.

We are now reviewing the comments that we have received during our preliminary discussions.

I expect to release specific proposals later this year for your comments.

This is a major undertaking. We are proposing a new way of protecting our environment.

We can only succeed if we have the benefit of the experience and expertise of people like those gathered here.

Let us continue to work together to develop the best possible system of protections for the health and environment of Ontarians.

Let us continue to work toward a healthier, cleaner and more prosperous Ontario.

Thank you.

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