Ontario politics

Environmental advocates say the change will push endangered species in Ontario closer to extinction. The Ontario government says other layers of protection are enough, and the move would help create jobs.

Conservation authorities oversee Ontario watersheds. The changes to how they work could allow developers to circumvent checks and balances brought in after hurricane Hazel in 1954, which destroyed houses built on flood-plains.

Ontario's Progressive Conservative government delivered a budget focused more on COVID-19 than the deep cuts it served up in 2019. But clean energy and green infrastructure were nowhere in sight, with recovery plans centred on tax cuts.

"The rules are complex and they haven't been communicated as clearly as needed,” said Prof. Steven Hoffman of York University. "And some of them just don't make sense."

“Our efforts to engage with Ontario have not worked, and the current approach to forestry in Ontario is resulting in the death of the boreal forest by a thousand cuts,” said Brunswick House First Nation Chief Cheryl St. Denis.

In a statement Monday, federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Premier Doug Ford’s program “meets the minimum stringency requirements” to replace Ottawa’s version and the government is “required” to sign off. He also said the government intends to make its threshold more stringent after 2022.

The government passed Bill 197 last month without holding public consultations, which are required under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights. Environmental advocates filed a first challenge last month, and a group of First Nations are planning a third.

In June, the Ford government proposed making it easier for quarries to be built in endangered species habitat. After feedback from the public, the province has shelved the idea.

A coalition of environmental groups have already filed a suit against the province over Bill 197, which the province's auditor general said was not compliant with environmental law. But the second planned challenge is likely to take a different angle, as it also centres on treaty rights.

Earlier this month, the Ford government announced its preferred route for a new Greater Toronto Area highway that would cut through protected green space, a revival of a proposal that was killed by a previous government. “This highway was cancelled previously for good reasons,” says Keith Brooks from Environmental Defence.

Bill 197 included a major rewrite of Ontario’s environmental assessment rules, which critics said watered down key protections. A council of First Nations are now calling on the Ford government to respect treaty rights, flagging concerns about the legislation.

Though the study is an important step, the government needs to make an effort to reduce carbon emissions, said Sarah Buchanan from Environmental Defence. "This is like watching your house burn down, and instead of calling the firefighters, calling your insurance company," she said.

A lot of people don’t like cormorants and the bone-like trees they leave behind. But experts and advocates question whether the Ford government’s new cormorant hunt is based on science.

The government’s failure to consult the public on environmental changes in Bill 197 was against the rules, the auditor general has said. Now, three environmental groups are asking a judge to declare the Ontario government's actions were "unlawful," calling it a "pattern of illegal conduct."

Toronto reported just one new case Tuesday. "We have made tremendous progress that allows us to return to something a little closer to our normal lives this summer, but we are not out of the woods yet," Premier Doug Ford cautioned.