The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO), Gord Miller, has released his 2007/08 annual report, with several key findings suggesting the province has vast room for improvement.
Miller’s report lists extensive problems dealing most prominently with Ontario’s “undervalued water” systems, plus a “false sense of security” when it comes to air pollution monitoring. The hard-hitting report also points to a “crisis” in biodiversity, which is cited as “one of the most pressing issues facing the Ontario government currently, and in the decades to come.”
The Commissioner argues that people in Ontario’s cities are being misled because air quality monitoring stations “are located away from local sources of pollutants.” As a result, the “ECO sees a pressing need to overhaul Ontario’s outdated and inadequate air quality monitoring and reporting program to ensure that Ontarians have the information about air quality they need to make informed decisions.”
The report also suggests that public water use should be prioritized by the government, so that bottled water companies do not to deplete Ontario’s already-stretched water sources, especially during dry conditions.
Read the Commissioner’s introductory remarks to the Legislature.
Download the full report.
Download a supplement to the report.
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