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Keynote Address

by

The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky
Minister of the Environment
MPP Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington

“Ontario’s Environmental Priorities and Results”

The Canadian Institute’s 7th Annual Conference on
What’s New in Environmental Law and Regulation in Ontario

Intercontinental Bloor Yorkville Hotel
Toronto, ON
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 (noon)

(Check against delivery)

I want to thank the organizers for this opportunity to discuss What’s New in Environmental Law and Regulation.

Before getting to “what’s new,” I want to begin with “why.” Why are so many of us intensely devoted to protecting Ontario’s precious air, water and land?

For me, this work stems from a passionate belief that our resources are part of the natural bounty that belongs to each and every one of us.

The Premier often says we must remember that we did not inherit this Earth from previous generations; it has been loaned to us by our children.

It is our duty to pass it on to them in better shape than we received it.

We all want our children to grow up with a strong connection to their natural surroundings in a safe and healthy environment.

Also, our enjoyment of nature gives us needed balance in the midst of our busy lives.

However, it goes deeper than that.

A clean environment is the basis for our health.

Walkerton taught all of us a tragic lesson about the potential consequences of contaminated water.
The Ontario Medical Association has long advised us about the devastating impact that polluted air has on our health.

Clean, healthy communities are more prosperous and vibrant. They are attractive to people looking for a place to live or set up business.

Threats to our environment also threaten the future of our communities.

Environmental protection means protecting our children’s future, and that of the generations to come.

We are not talking about an impossible task.

The threats to our environment are real, but they are also manageable and often preventable. They are problems begging for solutions. The time for action is now.

Technologies are in place in virtually every area of human endeavor that are cleaner than the technologies that created the challenges we now face. The creative genius of people exists for us to draw on.

So it is not a question of knowledge.

Rather, it is a question of value.

The McGuinty government places great value on our common natural heritage.

When we took power we found a regulatory deficit. We found environmental regulations that were out of step with current needs and lagged far behind other jurisdictions.

The people expected us to act and we have.

I am very proud of all that we have accomplished.

We have announced a five-point plan for cleaner air. It caps smog-causing emissions from major industries that have never had caps before.

We have made significant progress in the development of protections for our drinking water at every stage – from source to tap and back again.

We have – in the past year alone – implemented 24 of the recommendations made by Justice O’Connor in his report on the Walkerton Inquiry.

We have proposed new rules for permits to take water.

We have posted legislation on the development and approval of plans to protect our water sources.
We have set an aggressive 60-per-cent target for waste diversion.

And we have made Ontario’s hazardous waste rules among the toughest in North America.

These are solid accomplishments.

There is more on the way…and soon.

We are moving ahead with new initiatives that will help transform the way we protect the environment.

We are shifting our emphasis to ensure that good environmental players are rewarded and bad players are penalized.

Our Environmental Leaders Program is rewarding companies that lead the way in corporate environmental performance by giving them public recognition and a quicker compliance regime.

We know that the vast majority of Ontario companies are meeting our requirements and want to do what they can to help protect our common natural heritage.

However, we also know there are exceptions.

This is why I introduced Bill 133, the Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act. If passed, it would require those who threaten our environment and health to compensate communities that are affected.

Some experts refer to an enforcement pyramid that starts with persuasion, moves on to warnings and ultimately to criminal penalties and licence suspensions.

The missing element in Ontario has been civil penalties. Other jurisdictions have shown that penalties can be an important intermediate tool to encourage compliance.

The Environmental Leaders program does two things. First, it works with the leaders to get even better performance. In one sense, this is the easiest task because the leaders already understand the benefits of environmental responsibility.

Second, Environmental Leaders is designed to encourage mid-level performers to step up their game. This is a little harder because it involves getting these companies to see the benefits of environmental innovation.

We have been very consistent and clear in our belief that the vast majority of Ontario companies fall in these two categories. Ideally, we want all of them to be Environmental Leaders.

However, there are a few companies that fail to comply with the province’s environmental laws. This can lead to serious events, such as spills, which can cause serious impacts on communities.

This is where Environmental Penalties come in. They send the message to the underperforming companies that compliance is the bare minimum of acceptability in Ontario.

Environmental Penalties also send a clear message that there is a cost and a consequence for not complying with provincial environmental protection laws.

Environmental penalties level the playing field for everyone – ensuring that companies with poor environmental business practices do not get an unfair economic advantage from non-compliance.

If passed, Bill 133 would impose Environmental Penalties of up to $20,000 per day for individuals or $100,000 per day on companies responsible for illegal spills.

Environmental penalties are not the same as fines.

Fines are handed down by the courts following a successful prosecution. Environmental Penalties would be assessed by ministry officials within a few days of a spill. Their primary purpose is compliance, not punishment.

Environmental penalties are a flexible tool that would enable faster action on unlawful spills.

It does not matter whether a spill was accidental or deliberate. Environmental Penalties are the consequence. They are an immediate response to an immediate issue.

This is a new approach to preventing pollution by industry. It would encourage compliance to ensure that spills do not happen.

Companies have the power to prevent spills and they should, because it is in their best interest.

If a community’s water supply is affected, their costs must be paid by the company that causes the problem.

If a polluter appeals an Environmental Penalty, there would be an onus on the polluter to show that the alleged harm from the spill did not occur.

Company officials would be held more accountable under the proposed legislation.

The proposed legislation puts the onus on corporate directors and officers to prove that all reasonable steps were taken to comply with the laws protecting Ontario’s environment.
I want to clarify some misconceptions about Bill 133.

Bill 133 is a framework that sets out our public policy intention. While Environmental Penalties are a tool that can be used broadly, their application will be controlled through regulations.

The regulations will apply Environmental Penalties to the approximately 178 companies that are currently covered by the MISA regulations. We would consult with the owners and operators of these facilities before passing final regulations.

I understand that some municipalities fear they may face Environmental Penalties if they have sewer-system overflows, or bypasses.

Those concerns are unfounded because there is no intention to apply Environmental Penalties to municipalities.

Or to agricultural operations.

I am told that one analysis of Bill 133 suggests that drivers run the risk of an Environmental Penalty if they leave their car idling in their driveway.

Again, this is a misinterpretation of our intentions. Vehicle exhausts are not – and will not be – covered.

I know some retailers have expressed concern that the law will apply to them and cause problems.

Again, I say, this is yet another misinterpretation of our intentions. We are focusing on major polluters and the law will not be applied broadly.

As we transform the way we protect the environment, we are using the best in science.

Consider, for example, our proposal to introduce new standards under our five-point plan for cleaner air. We are looking at replacing our current dispersion models with U.S. EPA models that provide a more accurate assessment of health and environmental impacts.

We also want to make greater use of science-based decision-making process that balances the protection of local communities with factors like timing, technology and economics.

We are bringing better science to the task of protecting the sources of Ontario’s drinking water.

New research investments totaling $12.5 million will ensure that everyone has the information necessary to move ahead with source protection planning.

These investments will put Ontario even further ahead as a leader in the science of watershed management.

In the not too distant future, Ontario will have unprecedented information on watershed mapping, and water quality and quantity in watersheds.

We will have better information than ever before. We will know how much water we have, what its characteristics are, how it replenishes itself and where the threats are.

We are working to ensure that – over time – information is publicly available mapping out our water resources, where they are at risk, and how much water is available for use.

It is an exciting time at the Ministry of the Environment.

We have made some real advances and we have set the stage for more.

The benchmarks for our success are not just cutting airborne pollutant releases or reducing contaminants in our waters or diverting a certain percentage of waste from disposal.

The real story – the real result we seek – is the renewal of our common natural heritage.

I am firmly committed, and the McGuinty government is firmly committed, to making Ontario the best possible place for our families, neighbours and friends.

We believe Ontarians deserve it, our children deserve it and their children deserve it as well.

Thank you.

 

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