2015 / 16 Environmental Protection Report: Small Steps Forward · Proposed Changes to Wolf and...
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2015 / 16 Environmental Protection Report: Small Steps Forward Dianne Saxe Environmental Commissioner of Ontario October 27, 2016
Transcript of 2015 / 16 Environmental Protection Report: Small Steps Forward · Proposed Changes to Wolf and...
2015 / 16
Environmental Protection Report:
Small Steps Forward
Dianne Saxe
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
October 27, 2016
Overview
1. The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
2. Small Steps Forward Vol. 1: Environmental Rights
3. Small Steps Forward Vol. 2: Biodiversity
– Walking the Fire Line
– Invasive Species Management in Ontario
– Declining Wildlife
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THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER OF
ONTARIO
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Who is the ECO?
• Impartial and independent
• Guardian of the Environmental Bill of Rights
• Watchdog on:
– Energy conservation
– Greenhouse gas emissions (climate)
– Environmental protection
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Our Goals
Goal 1 – The public knows about the tools of the EBR, uses them effectively to the benefit of the environment, and the government respects the purposes and requirements of the EBR
Goal 2 – The Legislative Assembly and residents of Ontario receive fair, balanced and accurate information about compliance with the EBR, and government progress towards its environmental, climate and energy conservation goals and responsibilities
Goal 3 – The government creates and upholds better legislation and policy to protect the environment, reduce the use or makes more efficient use of energy, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
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Our Tools
• Flashlight
• Can opener
• Megaphone
• Watchdog, not police dog
• Very unusual role
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15 Ministries
Including:
• Environment and Climate Change
• Natural Resources and Forestry
• Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
• Energy
• Municipal Affairs
• Northern Development and Mines
• Transportation
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Our Website
•
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CLIMATE ENVIRONMENT
Our Reports
ENERGY
Find Them Here
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SMALL STEPS FORWARD VOL. 1:
ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
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Environmental Rights
• What are environmental rights?
– Environmental Bill of Rights
• Progress this year (Volume 1)
• EBR reform
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What are Environmental Rights?
• Environmental Bill of
Rights:
– Public Participation
– Transparency
– Accountability
• Obligations for
government
• Tools for citizens
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EBR Toolbox
• Environmental Registry
• Applications for Review
and Investigation
• Appealing Instruments
• Legal Rights
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Environmental Registry
• Public right to:
– Prior notice and information
– comment
– have comments considered
– know final decision
• For some decisions:
– seek leave to appeal to ERT
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On significant environmentaldecisions:
Land Use PlansRenewable Energy
Approvals
Climate Change Strategies & GHG
Regulations
Permits to Take Water
Drinking Water Protection Laws &
Regulations
Environmental Compliance Approvals
What’s on the Registry?
Public Comments
• Since April 1, 2015, at least 15 proposals on the
Environmental Registry yielded 500 or more
comments
• Those 15 proposals received over 119,000 comments
combined
• The top two most-commented proposals were on the
use of neonicotinoids:
– OMAFRA’s Pollinator Health: 52,229
– MOECC’s amendment to the Pesticides Act: 23,145
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Public Comment Success Story
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Proposed Changes to Wolf and Coyote Management
• As part of the Moose Project, the MNRF posted proposed
changes to wolf and coyote hunting /trapping regulations
• Proposed to loosen hunting /trapping rules for wolves and
coyotes
• Alleged justification: predation on moose
• >12,000 comments, including three
petitions with >200,000 signatures
• MNRF decided not to proceed
Vol. 1: Progress This Year
• Ministries worked hard this year to improve EBR compliance:
– In 2015, there were 1,800 outdated notices from as far back as 1996
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The environmental rights of
Ontarians need more respect
– >1,000 have been brought up to date
– progress continues
• Commitment Letters
• Better notices from some ministries
• Treasury Board Secretariat prescribed
Gov’t: Making the Registry work
• Notices that are:
– Timely
– Complete
• Supporting information
– Understandable
• Decisions that are:
– Timely
– Responsive
– Understandable
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86Number of policy,
act or regulation
proposals posted
in 2015/16
Making the Registry Work
• Software badly needs
upgrading
• Functions needed:
– Alerts
– Geographic searches
– Updates
– Ministry names
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~1000 users daily
Our Alert Service
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Public: Making the Registry work
• A “voice”, not a “vote”
• Do your homework
• Stay on point
• Evidence is better than opinion
• Courtesy and clarity: it’s a public platform
• Use our guide: Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights
and You
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• 75 day comment period (MMAH)
• Comment by Dec. 19, 2016
• Registry #012-7196
A great chance to practice:
reform of Ontario Municipal
Board’s role in land use planning
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Reviews and Investigations
• Anyone in Ontario can ask for a review or investigation
• Potentially powerful tools to influence government
decisions and to have environmental laws enforced
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Since 1994, Ontarians have
submitted over 600 applications
for review and 230 applications
for investigation
Reviews
• Eight new applications for review in 2015 / 16
including:
– Regulation of herbicide
– Environmental compliance approval for an asphalt site
– How spills are regulated and communicated to the
public
• Average: 19% accepted
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3Number of reviews
ministries agreed to
undertake in
2015/16
Review Success Story
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Excess Soil Management
• Development projects displace huge amounts of soil (“fill”)
• 16 to 25 million m3 per year
• No comprehensive system to track amount and movement
• MOECC /MMAH agreed: we need a new policy framework
• ➡ Draft Excess Soil Management Policy
Framework
Investigations
• Five applications for investigation in 2015 / 16:
– noise, dust, emissions and water drains
• Average: 37% accepted
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3Number of
investigations the
MOECC agreed to
undertake in
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Investigation Success Story
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Decades-Old Illegal Dump
• Up to 100,000 tonnes of waste fibreglass buried in a gravel pit
• The MOECC investigated ➡
– Detailed scientific review
– Off-site impacts unlikely
– Order: notice to be registered on title
Special Report: EBR Compliance
“Report Cards”
• Quality
• Timeliness
• Cooperation
• Considered SEV
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MOECC
• Makes the largest number of environmentally
significant decisions
• Had the most outdated notices and reviews
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75%Percentage of all
policy, act and
regulation notices
posted by the
MOECC and the
MNRF in 2015/16
ECO Recommends
• MOECC should:
– update the Environmental Registry
– update all outdated proposals
– complete or update reviews
• Sarnia air pollution impact on Aamjiwnaang First Nation
– follow through on completed reviews
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Small Steps by MOECC
• Updated many outdated notices and reviews
• Trying not to make new ones
• Now posting progress updates on outstanding
applications for review: e.g. EBR 012-7383
• Committed to update obsolete Registry software
• Began long-overdue review of the EBR
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EBR Reform
• MOECC is conducting a “provincial dialogue” on
whether to update the Environmental Bill of Rights.
• PLEASE COMMENT
• Go to ebr.gov.on.ca and search for EBR registry
number 012-8002 to comment by November 8
• Our requests posted at http://eco.on.ca/reforming-
the-environmental-bill-of-rights/
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EBR Reform Registry Notice
1. Should the EBR purposes and principles be
expanded or modified?
2. Should additional ministries, instruments or
legislation be covered?
3. Should Statement of Environmental Values
requirements be changed?
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EBR Reform Registry Notice
4. Should changes be made to the EBR’s requirements
for “Public Participation in Decision-making” re acts,
regulations, policies, instruments and other
processes?
5. Comments on the Leave to Appeal process?
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EBR Reform Registry Notice
6. Should the s. 32 “EA exception” to public
participation be modified?
7. Should changes be made to the Applications for
Review process, esp. timelines and content of
government responses?
8. Should changes be made to the Application for
Investigation process, esp. timelines and content of
government responses?
9. Other comments?
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ECO Advice on EBR Reform
• Remove or narrow EBR exceptions
• Extend appeal deadlines
• Strengthen Statements of Environmental Values
• Strengthen ECO investigative and reporting powers
• Allow ERT stays pending applications for leave to
appeal
• Roundtable on Reviews
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SMALL STEPS FORWARD VOL. 2:
BIODIVERSITY
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Biodiversity
• The natural variety of life
• Robust biodiversity essential for healthy ecosystems
• Biodiversity loss: one of the most critical
environmental problems facing the planet
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Small Steps by MNRF
• Walking the Fire Line
• Invasive Species
• Declining Wildlife
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Walking the Fire Line
• MNRF manages wildland fire in all of Ontario except
the developed south
• Must balance forestry interests with safety, ecology,
biodiversity, cost
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Small steps in the right direction:
new Wildland Fire Management
Strategy
Source: Larry Watkins
Fire Suppression History
• Historically, Ontario has suppressed almost all forest
fires
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Percentages of fires in Ontario by
response type 2005-2014
Ecological Importance of Fire
• Boreal forest needs regular, moderate fire
• Controlled fires provide essential ecological benefits
• And lower risk of more severe fires
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Source: Ontario ParksSource: Parks Canada
Copyright Parks Canada
Moderate Fire Promotes
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Catastrophic Fire Risk
• Moderate fire v catastrophic fire
• Devastating fires burn soil and seeds
• Too much fire suppression = over-mature forests,
heavy fuel load = risk of catastrophic fire
• Risk worsened by climate change
– Heat
– Drought
– Severe storms
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Wildland Fire Management Strategy
• New and important
• Could allow more fires to burn for ecological and
safety benefits
• Still prioritizes “values” protection
• Could increase fire prevention and mitigation in
communities vulnerable to forest fires
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ECO Recommends
• MNRF should ensure that fire-dependent forests
experience moderate fire
– Especially in protected areas
– Even if some marketable timber for future use is lost
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The Ontario government should
ensure all communities near
flammable forest become
“FireSmart”
• MNRF should have a
dedicated, capable
prescribed fire team
Invasive Species
• Non-native organisms that harm native and established ecosystems
• Ontario has high exposure due to the large amount of goods and people moving through
• Cost Ontario millions each year
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E.g. infestations:
• Asian long-horned beetle in Toronto and Vaughan
• Emerald ash borer in southern Ontario, Grey County, Ottawa
Valley, Algoma and Thunder Bay
• European water chestnut in eastern Ontario
• Wild boars in southern Ontario
How to Fight Invasive Species
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New Invasive Species Act
• Invasive Species Act, 2015 comes into force
November 3, 2016
• First invasive species law in Canada
• Power to restrict possession, transfer, sale, release or
propagation of invasive species
• Kudos!
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But where are the Regulations?
• No regulations yet
• Public consultation on regulations to name species
• But where’s the content?
– E.g. phragmites, dog strangling vine, Japanese
knotweed to be restricted
– But where are the restrictions?
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Where’s the Action?
• Few concrete MNRF actions to implement Ontario
Invasive Species Strategic Plan
• Leaves too much to “partners” without coordination,
leadership, resources
• Known pathways not blocked
• Inadequate monitoring
• How will MNRF use its new powers?
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ECO Recommends
• Restrict known pathways
• Tackle invasive species in parks :
– Assess threats
– Develop prevention, detection and management plans
– Allocate funds that are not tied to visitor revenue
• Establish advisory panels with scientific expertise and
Aboriginal / local knowledge
• Publicly report progress
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Wildlife Declines
• Large-scale loss of biodiversity is a crisis
• Three case studies: moose, bats, amphibians
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Biggest threats: habitat
degradation and loss, invasive
species and disease, and climate
change
• Ontario must live up to its
commitment to broad-
scale biodiversity
monitoring
Source: Ryan von Linden/New York Department of
Environmental Conservation
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq/5765048
289) used under CC BY 2.0
Moose
• Iconic species with cultural and economic significance
for northern and Aboriginal communities
• Population plunged 20% in 10 years
– Near Cochrane and Thunder Bay, down by 60% and
50%
• Threatened by climate change, habitat loss /
degradation, roads, disease, parasites.
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Moose Hunting
Moose Population
Decline
Adult Moose Harvest
(2014)
Calf Moose Harvest
(2014)
-22,700 since early
2000s
Legal limit: 13,499 tags
Legal limit: one for each
of the 98,000 licensed
hunters
Estimated resident
harvest: 3,020
Estimated resident
harvest: 1,403
Aboriginal harvest:
Unknown
Aboriginal harvest:
Unknown
Tourism industry harvest:
601
Tourism industry harvest:
26
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Poaching? No data
MNRF Moose Project
• Some adjustments / reductions in hunting
• Calf hunting still too lax
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Ontario’s moose live in an
ecological community that has
been highly modified by resource
extraction, suppressed wildlife
regimes, and hunting
• No action on habitatSource: Doug Brown used under CC BY 2.0
Will the Moose Project Work?
• Not enough data to know
– Voluntary reporting = incomplete information from
hunters
– Little data from First Nations
• Little protection of calves
• Adjusting seasons or tag numbers may not reduce
legal and illegal harvest
• What about habitat? Road building?
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Tragedy of the Bats
• Ontario’s bats are being decimated by white-nose
syndrome
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White-nose syndrome, confirmed in Ontario 2010.
White fungus on muzzles, ears and wings.
Mortality rate: 95 to 100% within 2-3 years.
No cure (yet?)
• Infected bats wake up more during winter hibernation
• Result: dehydration and starvation
Ontario’s Bats
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White-Nose Syndrome Response Plan
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• Little is being done except coordination and
information sharing
• Tries to reduce human-carried spread of disease
• Some hopeful research, but uphill battle
Source: Dave Thomas
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidjthoma
s/10138888576) used under CC BY-NC 2.0
Ontario’s Declining Amphibians
• Ecologically important. Key in the food web as both
predators and prey
• Good indicator of ecosystem health
• Most threatened vertebrate group in the world
• 27 native species in Ontario – 3 are extirpated and 5
‘endangered’
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Source: Dave Huth
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/davemedia
/7461570980) used under CC BY-NC 2.0
MNRF Dropping the Ball
• Insufficient habitat protection
• Lack of monitoring
• Delayed recovery actions required under the ESA
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More than 70% of southern Ontario’s original wetlands have been lost
OMAFRA still subsidizes wetland destruction
Source: Peter Paplanus
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/2ndpeter/1586255168
6) used under CC BY 2.0
ECO Recommends
• What gets measured gets managed
• Ontario needs broad-scale biodiversity monitoring
• Moose:
– Mandatory reporting for all hunters
– Examine and report on role of habitat in declines
• Bats:
– Finalize government response statements
– Accelerate recovery actions
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ECO Recommends
• Amphibians:
– Prohibit infrastructure in provincially significant
wetlands
• Wildlife mitigation strategy for roads
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Have Your Say
• The ECO is currently taking ideas for future
Environmental Protection Report topics
• Check out our blog at eco.on.ca
• Fill in the online template to submit your idea
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