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Notes for remarks

by

The Honourable Laurel Broten
Minister of the Environment

2006 Smog Summit
Toronto City Hall Council Chambers

June 7, 2006

(Check against delivery)

Thank you and good morning everyone.

I’m delighted to be here today.

To join Mayor Miller and so many experts on clean air and the organizations that work so diligently to promote it.

I’d like to commend the Clean Air Partnership for once again organizing this Summit.

Clean air and climate change — they are the most critical environmental issues of our time.

Ontario is feeling the real effects of environmental damage right now, and the toll is dramatically increasing. Summer is upon us, and we’ve already had multiple smog alerts.

Public awareness of these issues is at an all-time high. We have undeniable evidence that human activity is harming the environment and seriously threatening our health.

Our government is passionate about protecting the health of all Ontarians.

That’s why we’re taking aggressive action to protect and improve the air we breathe.

We face serious challenges.

Air pollution and smog are not only unpleasant and affect our lifestyle … they put our lives at risk.

Last year alone, air pollution caused 5,800 premature deaths in our province …

Put more than 17,000 Ontarians in hospital …

And resulted in 60,000 emergency room visits.

When we think about those numbers, we have to ask ourselves — who were those 5,800 people? Our neighbours? Our friends? Our elderly parents? They could be any one of us, or any of our loved ones.

When you add up all the human costs, along with the environmental and economic damages, smog and transboundary air pollution cost Ontarians $9.6 billion dollars every year … $6.6 billion in health care costs and $3 billion in environmental damage … we know we are paying too high a price.

We owe it to the people of Ontario to take action on air pollution — and especially to care for our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly and the very young, who suffer the most from the effects of bad air.

As a mother of two baby boys growing up in the city, I join thousands of parents in seeing the problem in a very personal way.

Will my boys be able to play outside in the summer months?

Will they be among the thousands of children who develop asthma or allergies as a direct result of air pollution?

This is our motivation.

Our health. Our families. Our communities. Our future.

And it is for these many reasons that we act.

The McGuinty government is on the side of Ontario’s families. And we’re advancing the fight against air pollution and climate change in numerous ways.

Notre santé. Nos familles. Nos collectivités. Notre avenir.

Nous agissons pour ces nombreuses raisons-là.

Le gouvernement McGuinty se range du côté des familles ontariennes. Nous combattons la pollution atmosphérique et le changement climatique sur plusieurs fronts.

Our government is leading the way with initiatives to cut pollution and greenhouse gases.

Yes, we are reducing our reliance on coal-fired energy plants and yes, we are moving forward with our commitments for clean, renewable energy.
Our commitment to replacing coal-burning power stations is equal to taking every car and small truck off the road.

We closed Lakeview. That was the first step. Before I was elected to government, as an environmental activist in Toronto, it was Lakeview I wanted to see closed. We’ve closed it and we’re moving forward with new sources of clean energy.

We’ve signed contracts for 1,300 megawatts of wind power — enough for 300,000 homes and we are supporting the development of solar power.

We are encouraging Ontarians to conserve and we are putting our own house in order by reducing energy use throughout all government buildings.

With the 1.8 million acre Greenbelt and Places to Grow Report, we’ve put into place a comprehensive long-term plan that curbs urban sprawl in Ontario, so people can spend less time driving polluting vehicles and more time doing the things that matter to them — spending time with their families and friends, in their communities.

We’re also giving people more options to leave their cars at home.

Over the next five years, more than $1 billion will be invested in public transit through the provincial gas tax. An additional $3.1 billion will be going towards improving and expanding transit through ReNew Ontario … our government’s five-year infrastructure investment plan.

Better transit means more choice for families, fewer cars on our roads and less harmful emissions going into the air we breathe.

We’ve offered owners of qualifying hybrids a provincial sales tax break of up to $2,000 to encourage people to drive greener, more environmentally-friendly vehicles.

And soon, all cars in Ontario will be operating on cleaner fuel.

We’ve put in place a regulation that requires all gasoline in our province to contain five per cent ethanol, on an annual average, beginning in 2007. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 800,000 tons. That’s like taking another 200,000 cars off the road every year.

And we’re investing more than half a billion dollars over 12 years to develop Ontario’s ethanol industry.

With our comprehensive plan for Clean Air we’re setting the bar high.

Ontario is recognized as the North American leader in clean air and climate change initiatives. We will continue to be vigilant in our attack on these serious health hazards.

Dr. David Suzuki calls our agenda “ambitious”.

Dr. Val Rachlis, President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians calls our government’s work on setting new air standards for harmful pollutants “a remarkable undertaking”.

Our government is taking real and positive steps to tackle these critical issues.

Yes, it’s ambitious. And yes, it’s aggressive. But that is the kind of action we must take to make a real, positive difference and ensure Ontario’s families have clean air to breathe.

We’re also encouraging other jurisdictions to follow our lead and to pick up the pace.

As we all know, Ontario could reduce its emissions to zero and we could still have smog days. We need to take action at home and look beyond our borders for help.

We’re working with U.S. partners to address transboundary pollution.

In May, I took a clear message to Washington where our province joined several states in a legal action to force some of the worse emitters of air pollution in the U.S. to install modern pollution control equipment.

I’m also proud that as part of our government’s plan for Clean Air, we set updated, new or tougher standards for 40 harmful air pollutants — this was the biggest move on air toxics in the last 25 years.

But we’re not stopping there.

Today, I want to announce that we are planning to review standards for 15 additional high-priority airborne contaminants.

The proposed new air standards will include lead, a substance which can lead to adverse neurological effects in young children, including lowered intelligence, behavioural problems and diminished school performance.

Also included are such toxics as cadmium, sulphuric acid, trimethylbenzene and ethylene oxide.

All the toxics under review can have serious health implications when they are released into our air in excess amounts. Trimethylbenzene is also a smog causing agent. Our proposal will see a 70 per cent reduction in the 24-hour standard for this contaminant, a standard that will not only better protect local air quality, but will also contribute to reductions in smog formation in urban areas

The best available scientific information on each of the 15 toxic substances has been carefully reviewed and the ministry is proposing new air standards for consultation.

It is our responsibility to continually adapt new research and knowledge into better protection for Ontarians. And it is our goal to continually build upon our environmental success and set high standards to help improve the air quality in our local communities.

Our government has worked closely with municipalities towards cleaner air.

Last year, we released the updated Municipal Guide to Action to help municipalities develop Smog Alert Response Plans.

Initiatives of note are underway in many communities, and are indeed having an effect.

Today, I would like to challenge mayors and municipal officials across the province to ratchet up their efforts even further. Air pollution respects no borders.

Transboundary air pollution is responsible for more than half of our smog. It alone costs $5.2 billion every year and causes more than 2,700 premature deaths.

We need to work with neighbouring states to address this common threat. That’s why Ontario is building partnerships with a number of U.S. states to find common solutions for air emissions and climate change.

I’d like to see our cities take on a key role in building constructive partnerships with our neighbours.

We need to work together and find opportunities to learn from each other and inspire each other to cleaner and healthier projects and increased environmental success.

I’ve outlined the initiatives our government is taking to reduce emissions and tackle smog.

In the GTA alone, our government is investing $838 million investment in public transit — the equivalent of taking another 50,000 vehicles off the road.

Back in May, I had the pleasure of being part of our government’s announcement of $7 billion dollars for a new rapid transit corridor along a busy section of Yonge Street in York Region.

We’re making real progress with our transit investments.

I’d like to thank the Mayors and other municipal representatives here today for helping us to build on that momentum.

We’ve established the 1.8 million acre greenbelt and moved forward with our Places to Grow Act to curb urban sprawl, and preserve agricultural and environmentally-sensitive lands from development across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Our greenspaces add immeasurably to the quality of our lives and they play an essential role in helping to clean our air. Protecting and preserving these green and natural spaces will benefit many generations of Ontarians in the future.

We’re making progress … but there’s more that must be done.

Let’s see what municipalities can do to build upon this legacy within their own local planning and community development. Our Greenbelt needs active mayors and councilors like the ones in this room to preserve and protect in. The people of Ontario are counting on your continued good work.

Yes, the challenges involved in tackling smog and air pollution are complex.

But I know we can take on these challenges and we can succeed.

We owe it to Ontarians and we owe it to ourselves.

I consider my family the best reason in the world for encouraging action for a cleaner environment and better air.

I don’t want my sons breathing smog.

And I’m just one parent among millions who share the same view.

But we also know that we can’t do it all alone.

It’s why I’m encouraged that you, our municipal leaders, are looking at best practices for cleaner air. And I support your efforts to create partnerships across borders to share what works and look at ways we can help each other.

I’m proud to be part of a government that is leading the way with our plan for Clean Air.

Let’s keep working together to make a real and lasting difference in the fight against smog and local air pollution and climate change.

Together, we can build a cleaner, greener and healthier Ontario now, and for generations to come.

Thank you.

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