DONATEAt Sierra Club Ontario, our work mainly focuses on protecting the Great Lakes ecosystem, increasing awareness about air pollution, and promoting Green Energy adoption in Ontario. Sierra Club Ontario also works on very local issues, in coordination with smaller communities in Ontario.
What prematurely kills some 500 people in Ottawa every year, and about 14,600 in Canada?
It’s air pollution. How serious is that? As I stated in an opinion piece published in the Ottawa Citizen, that’s about as deadly as the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020, about 500 people died in Ottawa from the Covid-19 virus and about 15,000 in Canada.
The explosion of the movement for racial equality recently brings into highlight a threatened old growth forest called Waverly Beach, in Fort Erie, Ontario. Its sacred groves in 1905, earlier a home for refugees from slavery, became the birth place of the Niagara Movement. It was a forerunner of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).
As revelations mount about problems with mercury contamination from the now closed De Beers Victor Diamond Mine in Attawapiskat, opposition to proposed Ring of Fire mining projects soar. Claims by the Wildlands League that the company did not release the monitoring results for mercury contamination at 5 of 9 monitoring wells, received a boost on January 13, 2020, when Justice David A. Thomas ruled that these claims of violation of Ontario environmental laws could proceed to trial.
Although inconspicuously described as “Amendment Number I to the Ontario Growth Plan”, its impact if approved would be catastrophic. Amendment No. 1, would neuter the thrust of provincially directed land use planning, since it began to have an impact in a document entitled “Design for Development” (1966). It was also described as the Toronto Centred Region Plan.
The Ontario Provincial Police investigation into the hiring of Carmen D’Angelo as Chief Executive Officer (CAO) of the Niagara Region has taken a new direction. Now that the former CAO and the Regional Councillors who supported him are in the clear, the OPP is pursuing a new target. The new target is Bonnie Lysyk, the Auditor General of Ontario.
By Dr. Lino Grima
Chair, Ontario Chapter
We all know how big a problem plastic pollution is – and it has not gone away while we’ve been trying to stop the spread of COVID-19.
This is why we invite you to join the Plastic Free July Challenge, a series of activities and actions being organized by the Sierra Club Ontario and the Great Lakes Forums’ Plastic Pollution Team.
Reducing plastic pollution will generate savings for businesses, towns, and governments, and generate tens of thousands of new jobs in Canada - a great way to build back better after COVID.
Take action now - City seeking input to build bike lanes and green infrastructure.
The City of Brampton has taken a progressive stance towards active transportation following the increasing interest in cycling seen during the ongoing pandemic. As of April 18, 2020 they have decided to temporarily close off curb lanes for vehicular traffic and, instead, install interim bike lanes along an East West travel corridor.
From usually reliable sources it appears that the provincial government is planning at the request of developers, to urbanize 2,200 hectares of Carruthers Creek. Carruthers flows into Lake Ontario in the City of Ajax, a community that has long opposed the flood of pollution such an action would bring.
Protect Carruthers Creek Headwaters
The Government of Ontario has decided to restore the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1994 (EBR), effective June 15, 2020. This is a big win for the environment. Ontario had previously suspended the key conditions of the EBR in early April. The suspension worked to eliminate public awareness of ongoing projects and the right to weigh in on environmentally significant decisions using the Environmental Registry.
This would be detrimental to those working towards greener practices.
One of the great victories of the environmental movement of Ontario is now under attack — the Simcoe County Forests. The system was created under the leadership of Premier E. C. Drury, and his friend Edmund Zavitz, to rescue the Simcoe County from being buried in marching sand wastes. This was triggered by ruthless deforestation.
The Freele Tract is being defended by a valiant 770-member environmental protection group which should never have had to be organized. It’s called the Friends of Simcoe County Forests.
We find ourselves in unprecedented times. We are working hard to adapt to the new normal and do our part to reduce the spread of the virus. We encourage you to stay connected to nature in what can be difficult and stressful times. Although we cannot be in nature together, we can still enjoy the outdoors apart! Spending time in the fresh air is helpful for mental health and staying active during this time. Here are our best practices for how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.
1. Stay Up to Date with Local Health Authority Guidelines
Photo: by Jeff Smith on Unsplash.com. In the 1880s, St. Lawrence Market (Toronto, Ontario) sold passenger pigeons which later became extinct. Market hunting became banned throughout North America following passage of the Migratory Bird Convention.
Candidates should be passionate about environmental protection and supporting grassroots activists. Also must have a track record of commitment, reliability, and the ability to be a team player. Sierra Club is committed to equity and diversity in all of its appointments and activities. Self-nomination is welcome.
At this time, SCO is particularly interested in candidates suited to join as Treasurer, Fundraising Committee members or Communications Committee members.
By Rosemary Keenan, Chair Sierra Peel Group
On June 5, 2019 the City of Brampton Council responded to growing community concerns and declared a Climate Emergency. Since then the City has been accelerating development of a Community Energy and Emissions Reductions Plan (CEERP) designed to transform Brampton’s energy use and reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.
The Conservation Authorities Act and Wetland Protection on the Chopping Block Once Again
In their last three years of office, the government of Kathleen Wynne conducted two dangerous reviews. One was a review of the Conservation Authorities Act. Another was a review of Ontario’s wetland policies. Now the same threats are coming up in a review of the Conservation Authorities Act by the government of Premier Doug Ford.
This article is detailed follow up to Developer Charged With Illegal Cut in Thundering Waters (follow link to previous article)
Photo by Daniel Nardone. Dense blazing star at Thundering Waters facing east towards now illegally cut Riverfront Residential site.
On January 25, 2020, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), levelled charges against GR Canada, a developer associated with the Riverfront Residential development in Niagara Falls. These were the second charges levelled against GR Canada for illegally cutting trees on this site within past two years.
November 13, 2018, in her last annual report issued two days before the termination of her office the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, (ECO), Dianne Saxe, issued an eloquent plea to bolster protection for southern Ontario’s besieged forests. Forming Chapter Three of her Back to Basics, the report was expressively termed, “Southern Ontario’s Disappearing Forests.” Here Saxe wrote, “Conserving forests must become a top priority in land-use planning, and creating the conditions for healthy urban trees must become a top priority in urban planning.”
Photo: Oka memorial (Quebec). Many of the Mohawks buried here are from families involved in the planting of the forest which took place between 1880 and 1920. Since for most of this period there were no tree nurseries geared to reforestation, the Mohawks had to gather pine seedlings from considerable distance to the north in canoes from forests where white pines still grew. Photo credit MaryLou Jorgensen-Bacher.
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Today Niagara Region serves as a carbon sink thanks to its extensive wetlands south of the Niagara Escarpment. While over 90% of Southern Ontario’s wetlands have been drained, the degradation has not hit southern Niagara, where only 10% have been lost. These wetlands, mostly forested except the 1,500 hectare Wainfleet Bog, contribute to the cooling of our traumatically overheating earth.