Ontario Chapter

At Sierra Club Ontario, our work mainly focuses on protecting the Great Lakes ecosystem, growing and protecting the Greenbelt, and promoting Green Energy adoption in Ontario. Sierra Club Ontario also works on very local issues, in coordination with smaller communities in Ontario.

What's happening at the Ontario Chapter?

Canadian Youth Unite for Lake Erie at AquaHacking Challenge 2017

Yvonne Ho — December 20, 2017

As the African proverb goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”. This was quoted by one of the judges to conclude the 2017 AquaHacking semi-finals competition. It epitomized a powerful theme for an evening that involved bringing people and organizations together that had been working to develop integrated water governance by promoting technological innovation in this sector. Moreover, to engage future leaders by bringing water problems to the forefront of public and private sector agendas and fostering commitment to solving them. 

"Canada's Oceans: Towards 2020" - Protecting Canada's Oceans through the Power of Science, Art, and Policy

Yvonne Ho — December 18, 2017

"Let's change our national motto - "From sea to sea" forgets that we have three oceans; the Arctic is largest part of our coastline. We're an ocean nation, if our youth grow up knowing that, it will change how we do things... 'From sea to sea to sea'!" - Geoff Green, Executive Director and Founder of Students on Ice

Sierra Club's Urban River Valley and Greenbelt Celebration Goes On at Mississauga's Environmental Appreciation Evening

Yvonne Ho — December 14, 2017

"...The more we all know about and love the ecosystem that embeds and surrounds us, the more we feel that we are a part of it, the more we will see ways to enjoy, protect, and enhance what we have..."

BREAKING NEWS: Government of Ontario looking to expand Greenbelt by one third to protect water resources

Yvonne Ho — December 12, 2017

The official announcement came on December 7th.  The province is proposing to grow the Greenbelt by up to another 345,000 hectares (see Figure 1), adding on to the 810,000 hectares already in permanent existence plus the extra 10,000 hectares of urban river valley lands and wetlands that were announced this spring. This is a truly impressive proposal.

Sierra Club Canada Foundation: History of Successes

Yvonne Ho — November 27, 2017

From coast to coast, Sierra Club Canada Foundation staff and volunteers in all 5 of our Chapters have worked hard for years, campaigning to protect endangered Blue Whales in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, to ban the use of bee killing neonicotinoid pesticides, to create a national climate change action plan and to expand green space in and around our cities. 

Guest Post: One million cubic meters of Radioactive Waste to be deposited in "Near Surface Disposal Facility" next to Ottawa River

Yvonne Ho — November 20, 2017

"..The consortium proposes a  “Near Surface Disposal Facility” (NSDF), a mound of one million cubic meters of nuclear waste on a hillside draining into the already highly contaminated Perch Creek wetlands, less than 1 km from the Ottawa River.

Expanding Ontario's Greenbelt into Simcoe County: Defending the Peacemaker's World

Yvonne Ho — November 17, 2017

"The Peacemaker's World can only be protected by the direct action of the Ontario government putting rural lands in Simcoe into Ontario's Greenbelt, which would protect such natural wonders as the Minesing Wetlands...Rather than being seen as a controversial hot potato to be tossed around and evaded, the province needs to make a bold move that would win it plaudits from a public prone to cynicism."


Sierra Club Celebrates Ontario’s Greenbelt with cake, soup, and a hike in Niagara’s Carolinian old growth forest

Yvonne Ho — November 10, 2017

The Celebration

On the afternoon of October 28th, on St. Catharine’s' Lockhart Drive in a threatened Carolinian Old Growth Forest north of the Niagara Escarpment, the Sierra Club celebrated a major environmental victory. This was the extension of Ontario's Greenbelt to 21 major urban river corridors from Northumberald to Niagara. In Niagara, this involved the protection of Lake Gibson - a reservoir for most of the drinking water for Niagara's residents.

Government of Ontario's "Long-Term Energy Plan" fails to uphold Ontarians' environmental and energy future

Becky Bassick — October 27, 2017

The following article was written by Becky Bassick, Sierra Club Ontario's Green Energy & Great Lakes Campaign Volunteer.


“By wasting billions on nuclear rebuilds rather than investing in far more cost-effective energy efficiency and hydro imports, the government's plan misses out on the best opportunities to lower energy and environmental costs.”


The struggle to protect Ontario's Great Wetlands show a need to restore provincial appointments to Conservation Authority Boards

Yvonne Ho — October 19, 2017

"Conservation Authorities since 1946 have played a major role in protecting Ontario’s landscape from deforestation and consequently, rescuing the province from the blights of desertification and flooding... Since changes in 1996 which made municipal councils responsible for the appointment of conservation authority boards, they have been weakened to the threats caused by urban sprawl over critical wildlife habitat."

CONTEST GIVEAWAY: 2 Free Tickets to Planet in Focus Film Festival's Wildlife Shorts Program

Yvonne Ho — October 11, 2017

Planet in Focus 18th Annual Environmental Film Festival: October 19th to 22nd, 2017

Sierra Club Ontario is proud to co-present - together with Planet in Focus - their Wildlife Shorts Program, taking place:

Time to Celebrate: 21 New Rivers Added to Ontario's Greenbelt!

Yvonne Ho — October 5, 2017

PLEASE JOIN US IN CELEBRATING 21 NEW RIVERS ADDED TO ONTARIO'S GREENBELT...

                                                                                                                     THEN                                                                                                                                                       

...HIKE THE ENDANGERED LOCKHART DRIVE OLD GROWTH FOREST WITH US!

Good News!

Sierra Club Ontario joins 47 ENGOs to Comment on Great Lakes Draft Binational Strategy on Persistent Toxins: PCBs and HBDCs

Becky Bassick — September 27, 2017
"The PCB and HBCD drafts suffer from a lack of specifics. There are no definitive goals or timelines in either document. They use generic terms such as “reducing toxins,” but fail to elaborate on how to reduce them."

Sierra Club Ontario is seeking Executive Committee members

Yvonne Ho — September 26, 2017

Sierra Club Ontario's (SCO) Nomination Committee is seeking candidates as members to serve on its volunteer, non-profit Executive Committee, commencing January 2018. 

Candidates should be passionate about environmental protection and supporting grassroots activists in local communities to advocate for a more sustainable, greener future. We are looking for candidates who meet one (or more) of the following criteria:

UPDATE: Sierra Club's Michigan Chapter opposes OPG's Deep Geological Repository proposal in submission to LAMP

Yvonne Ho — September 26, 2017

In April 2017, we provided an update on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's (CEAA) criticism that OPG's report on its Lake Huron Deep Geological Repository (DGR) project proposal was inadequate and failed to provide information the government had requested, asking it to try again. This resulted in a delay in the Federal Minister's decision on the project until later next year. 

Part V: The Importance of Protecting Ontario’s At-Risk Species

Yvonne Ho — September 19, 2017

This blog is Part V of a 5-part blog series, as part of our Biodiversity Video Campaign.

"Ontario is home to a diverse collection of ecosystems but every year, more plants and animals are added to Ontario’s list of species at risk, which now numbers more than 200."

Biodiversity describes the diverse species of plants and animals in an ecosystem.