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The Mike Harris government's environmental record is stunningly bad. The Tories continue to say they're acting in the best interests of the environment, but nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy has released a report which says that the Harris government has done more to damage Ontario's environment than any other government in history.

To begin with, they've slashed budgets and staff for both the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources. The Ministry of the Environment in particular has lost almost half its funding and almost a third of its staff. These measures limit the government's ability to monitor the environment and take polluters to task. The Tories don't see that as a problem, though, because they favour a hands-off approach towards people who damage the environment: fines levied against polluters are at a ten-year low.

But wait, it gets worse. The Ontario government has decided that regulations concerning toxic waste disposal are bad for business. Even though the Fire Marshal has recommended tightening restrictions in the wake of the Plastimet recycling-plant disaster, the government has loosened things up. And hospitals and funeral homes may soon be able to pour waste blood into the sewer system, despite a lack of evidence proving the safety of this disposal method.

In several areas the government has downloaded its responsibilities, shifted them to the private sector or simply abandoned them. Recycling programs no longer get provincial funding. Sewage treatment is now wholly in the hands of municipalities, most of which have regulations, but few of which have the means to enforce them. The fishery is now managed by commerical fishing interests. I guess the government can't be bothered to take an interest in the health of Ontario's citizens.

Surprisingly, the Mike Harris government even breaks its own rules when it comes to environmental protection. The Ministry of Natural Resources allows logging to go on without proper controls. The Ontario government has simply ignored a federal-provincial agreement to protect fish habitat. In more than one instance the government has approved environmentally risky projects without the customary public consultation. That the government fails to comply with its own standards shows the enormous lack of respect they have for the environment.

Here are some more depressing environmental facts to ruin your day:

The Harris government

All this because the Tories think environmental controls are "bad for business." Well, I don't see how rivers and lakes full of dead fish can be good for business. It can't be good to have 1 800 people, who could be alive and working, dying every year because of smog. Setting the stage for more Plastimet fires doesn't make financial sense. Who benefits from this environmental free-for-all? Big business makes some gains in the short run, and everybody loses money and health in the long run. It's time for the Ontario government to take responsibility for its actions.

But, hey, it's against the law to take the government to court for its environmental policies! I wonder why ....

Update (Feb 12, 1999): during their ongoing pre-election campaign, the Tories have had the nerve to boast about their environmental record. With breathtaking hyprocrisy, Mike Harris has decided to go after the United States for causing so much air pollution in Ontario. He's now a champion of the environment! To be fair, the Tories have made a couple of environmentally wise decisions lately, including cancelling the spring bear hunt and ending the use of toxic dust-suppressant on rural roads. But is that supposed to somehow make up for the damage they've done? The Mike Harris government has one of the worst environmental records in the western world, and these small measures do nothing to change that.

Environmental Links