The Demise of Ontario’s Environment Assessment Approach

The 1970’s were heady days for what became known as the environmental movement. Prior to that, things like water pollution, air quality degradation and the loss of natural systems were seen as local phenomena. They were concerning, but really the responsibly of the nearby community. But times were changing and people were becoming aware for the first time that the ‘environment’ was a system that was operating at a huge scale where problems and insults played out in regional, or perhaps, global terms.

On April 22, 1970 people came together in the U.S for the First Earth Day Celebration and environmentalism was born. Ontario was a key jurisdiction at the time where new ideas and concepts relating to understanding our impacts on the environment spawned. Only shortly after the American initiatives, Ontario passed an Environmental Protection Act and an Endangered Species Act. Then we broke new ground by passing into law an Environmental Assessment Act which introduced an approach to decision-making which was unlike any other jurisdiction. Ontario’s environmental assessment (EA) process was intended to see the elements of the environment protected, but it was much more than that. It was a way that the people of Ontario could approach and plan for new public sector initiatives that was thoughtful, participatory and, step by step, led us to the wisest approach to problems. The starting point was always to question, “What is the need to be addressed?” and then to develop a process from there.

It is beyond the scope of this Earthroots piece to build the case for EA here but take it on faith that the first few major initiatives that went through the EA process were cathartic and emotional but undoubtedly ended in resolutions that were recognized for years afterward as being the wisest and most prudent for the province to have taken.

The province currently has a proposed new version of EA legislation posted for public comment on the Environmental Registry. It is the latest of a long line of attempts to water down, weaken and by-pass the thoughtful, sophisticated approach created in the 1970s. And, I fear it is the end of that era. The proposed new approach is so radically different from its inception that it ceases to be what the name portends.

At Earthroots we will stay in our lane and continue to pursue the natural qualities of wilderness, wildness and watersheds. We regret the loss of the contemplation and deliberation that was embedded in the original environmental assessment planning but we realize that society’s ideas have moved on. It is not a cause that we can or should spend our limited resources on but we thought you should know. You can see the latest proposal on the ERO (026-0415). There you can comment if you wish until May 20, 2026.