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Ontario's ecosystem at serious risk

Budget and staff cutbacks at the Ministries of Environment and Natural Resources have placed Ontario's ecosystems, biodiversity and parts of the economy at "serious risk of deterioration," says the province's environmental commissioner.

Budget and staff cutbacks at the Ministries of Environment and Natural Resources have placed Ontario's ecosystems, biodiversity and parts of the economy at "serious risk of deterioration," says the province's environmental commissioner.

In Gord Miller's special report, "Doing Less with Less," he says the ministries are starved for funding and unable to  carry out their core duties of field inspection enforcement and monitoring.

Since the early 1990's, their operating dollars have been frozen and huge staff cuts have drained them of expertise and crippled their ability to function.

His 78-page special report tracks a 15-year trend where budgets have failed to keep pace with inflation at a time when Ontario's environment is being stressed like never before by climate change, population growth, waves of invasive species, and persistent dangerous substances.

The funding situation is so "desperate," the MOE is unable to update inventories of aggregate pits and both ministries can't determine the current health of the environment.

"There is conflict on the landscape over pits and quarries, loss of forests, and loss of biodiversity. Yet, we cripple the ministry (of environment) for dealing with these challenges," says Miller, a former MOE district manager.

There's no procedures in place to meet environmental threats, and the ministries are unable to enforce existing laws and regulations because of a lack of troops in the field.

Miller says these once-proud ministries have been allowed to "atrophy and deteriorate" and all three major political parties must share the blame.

He's calling for a "strategic rebuild" of the MOE and MNR and a refocusing of public priorities.

In his report, Miller states the MOE's 2006-2007 operating budget was 34 per cent lower than 1992-93 when factoring in inflation. The MNR"s was 18 per cent lower. Their combined operating budgets amount to barely one per cent of the provincial budget.

During the same period, overall government spending has climbed 67 per cent.

Miller says the ministries have become low priorites because public attention has turned away from environmental protection and natural resources management towards addressing problems with health care and education.

But by doubling operational spending to the ministries, they would have the resources to make air cleaner and to detect  cancer-causing carcinogens in the environment.

On the business side, the backlog for processing Certificate of Approvals (C of A) is growing faster than the MOE can handle.

There's a number of private facilities operating under outdated standards as compared to newer operations. The lack of enforcement or compliance has creates an uneven playing field.

"We know and acknowledge that there is substantial non-compliance," says Miller.

Industry is being economically hamstrung from delays in C of A approval times. Some applications take as long as two years to process.

Based on complaints to his office, Miller says it covers a broad industry sector, but especially with new waste technologies, new septic systems, and for C of A applications in mining operations and heavy industry of various sorts. "The frustration level is there across the board."

Miller says the MOE simply isn't staffed adequately to review new technologies.

A lack of MNR inspectors has resulted in more illegal sand and gravel operations and more complaints to the ministry. Some individual inspectors are responsible for as many as 600 aggregates sites.

Miller says recent changes to the Aggregate Resources Act are a "mixed blessing" in providing a modest increase in field inspectors to oversee operations on private property, but they now have to cover a wider area of Ontario.

Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson, the NDP's environment critic, says the lack of MNR regional staff has hindered the advancement of lakeside cottage lot development in his riding since there's no capacity to do impact studies.

Also, loggers and forestry companies are unable to obtain permits in a timely fashion because there's so few personnel to process applications.

But it's not just expediency, it's also new legislation, Bisson says.

Ontario's controversial update of the Endangered Species legislation is creating its own headaches within industry and the MNR.

"Everybody agrees with the principle, but where's the money to make sure this would work in the first place, and can we compensate people that are going to be negatively affected?

To view the report, go online at www.eco.on.ca