3 October 2006 - Environmental Commissioner calls for land-use planning in the northern boreal

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario concurs with CPAWS Wildlands League and Sierra Legal that "significant changes should be made to the way in which the Ontario government regulates and plans for the northern boreal".  In his report, the Commissioner describes the need for big-picture planning and states that the "existing approval processes typically operate in isolation from one another" and that this "silo mentality does not effectively serve Ontarians nor provide adequate assurances of environmental protection in the path of resource development" (see pgs. 134-138). 

The report also notes that the Ministry of Environment had not provided a decision to CPAWS Wildlands League and Sierra Legal on their request. As of June 2006, the Ministry was approximately 7 months beyond the deadlines prescribed by the EBR.

The ECO recommends that: MNR, MOE, MNDM, and ENG consult the public on an integrated land use planning system for the northern boreal forest, including detailed environmental protection requirements that reflect the area's unique ecology.

BACKGROUND

In a letter to the Partnership for Public Lands (CPAWS Wildlands League, Ontario Nature and World Wildlife Fund) on March 19, 2003, Liberal Leader and now Premier Dalton McGuinty promised that his government would:

. . .institute meaningful, broad-scale land-use planning for Ontario’s Northern Boreal Forest before any new major development, including ensuring full participation by native communities. Land use planning must protect the ecological integrity of this natural treasure and help to provide a sustainable future for native people and northern communities.

Here is what the Ontario government had to say in response to our EBR request submitted in the fall of 2005 for comprehensive, conservation-based land use planning before development in the northern boreal forest.

Premier of Ontario

Ministry of Natural Resources

Ministry of Northern Development & Mines

Ministry of Energy

Ministry of the Environment

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