Ontario Chapter

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At 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's happening at the Ontario Chapter?

NPCA Withdraws Notice of Violation for Riverfront

Dr John Bacher — August 5, 2022

In January 2020, a month after the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT) rejected my appeal of the amendment to the City of Niagara Falls Official Plan to facilitate the Riverfront development, extensive mowing took place in a Grey Hawthorn dominated savanna. In addition to Hawthorns being mowed, some small trees were cut down and turned into sawdust — which in some places, buried existing vegetation by mounds three feet deep. 

Plastic Free July 2022 Wrap Up

Lucy Bain — August 2, 2022

Our third annual Plastic free July has finished and I want to thank everyone who joined us in the challenge. Whether you had a plastic free picnic, joined us for the Twitterstorm, hosted a clean up in your community or made some changes to plastic use in your household — we appreciate your hard work! 

We ended off the month with a beach clean up at Cherry Beach in Toronto. We had a great turnout and beautiful weather! Thank you to everyone who came out! 

The top items we found during the clean up were cigarette butts and plastic bottle caps. 

Renewing the Ontario Biodiversity Strategy. Working to achieve a nature-positive world.

Steve Hounsell, Chair of Ontario Biodiversity Council — July 6, 2022

In its 17th year, the Ontario Biodiversity Council (OBC), came together to achieve the actions set by the Ontario Biodiversity Strategy 2005. In 2011, with support from the Ontario government, Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy was renewed as a 10-year strategy, aligning with the Convention on Biological Diversity’s global Strategic Plan and its 20 targets, collectively known as Aichi targets. The 10-year strategy is a blueprint, championed by OBC, for an ecologically sustainable future for Ontario, its biodiversity and its people — something well worth pursuing. 

Be a #HikingHero and take a hike for nature between July 9 to 24!

Posted on July 5, 2022

Our National Hike for Nature is coming up at the beginning of July.

Sign up here!

This is Sierra Club Canada Foundation's annual peer-to-peer fundraiser where you can raise funds for our Ontario Chapter, just by taking a hike!

The Ontario chaper will be hosting hikes in Pickering and Toronto! Interested in joining or want to learn more? Let us know at ontario[at]sierraclub.ca

Assault on Carolinian Forests in Bacher V. GR CAN Investments et al.

By Dr John Bacher and Danny Beaton, Mohawk of the Turtle Clan. — June 30, 2022

In Memory of Alicja Rozanska.

From John Bacher: 

Recently when I was reviewing the decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Bacher V. GR CAN Investments, I received grim news of brutal events in the Amazonian rainforest. This showed the similarity of the assaults of the woodlands of the Carolinian life zone, Canada’s most biologically diverse biome, with another critical cradle of species diversity on our planet. 

Peel group supports sustainable communities at Bike the Creek

Posted on June 21, 2022

Members of our Peel Group were out at Bike the Creek this past weekend to support sustainability in the Peel region and talk about their work with the Sierra Club.

Bike the Creek is an annual Peel-based cycling event to promote a culture of active transportation in the community.

Peel members supported the event's Eco Station to make the event as waste-free as possible. Members also provided guidance to the public on recycling and composting best practices.

Major Conflicts Over Land Use Planning Threaten Lake Ontario

By Dr John Bacher and Danny Beaton, Mohawk of the Turtle Clan. — June 8, 2022

In Memory of Alicja Rozanska.

From John Bacher:

The health of the great lake of Ontario, which is a Seneca translation of the words Beautiful Clear Lake, is one of the significant issues facing the province for which it is named. In the watershed of the Great Lakes live most of Ontario’s people. The health of the Great Lakes and its tributaries are threatened by the curses of urban sprawl and expressways. 

The Battle to Save Lake Simcoe Should Be on Voters’ Minds This Election

By Dr John Bacher and Danny Beaton, Mohawk of the Turtle Clan. — May 10, 2022

In Memory of Alicja Rozanska.

From John Bacher:

Critical environmental indicators, which should send warning signals at the polls, are the fate of native cold-water fisheries. These are important warning signals of pollution since self-supporting cold-water fisheries will not survive in polluted environments. What should send alarm bells off on election day is the fate of Lake Simcoe’s Lake Trout.  

Key Issues for Environmental Justice in the Ontario 2022 Election

Posted on May 3, 2022

This is a key election for the environment and the future of Ontario. We can no longer afford to wait for the government to catch up on meaningful climate action. Sierra Club Canada Foundation is demanding stronger legislation that prioritizes people, the environment, and a liveable future. 

Below you will find the actions our members are calling for. You can reference this document for discussion when local candidates come to your door. Ask your local candidates what they plan to do to tackle the issues Ontarians are facing. 

Sierra Club Canada Foundation joins Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign

Posted on April 28, 2022

Sierra Club Canada Foundation's Ontario Chapter has joined a coalition of over 125 groups across Ontario in calling upon candidates in the upcoming provincial election to treat climate change as an emergency.

This election is critical for Ontario and for Canada. Now more than ever, we need strong action and leadership on climate change. 

The Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign encourages diverse groups from every sector to urgently work together towards our shared climate action goals.

Future Threats in Niagara If Urban Boundaries Expanded: Voice Your Opposition

By Dr John Bacher and Danny Beaton, Mohawk of the Turtle Clan. — April 20, 2022

In Memory of Alicja Rozanska.

***Scroll down to reach out to local councilors

From John Bacher: 

It is an old but true saying that photographs express threats to the natural world more vividly than the most eloquent warning. Some of these images recently emerged, which captured the beauty of the portion of the Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, on the eve of its destruction for a subdivision.