Groupe Ontario

Au Sierra Club Ontario, notre travail est concentré sur la protection des écosystèmes des Grand Lacs, sur l’expansion et la protection de la « Greenbelt », et de promouvoir l’adoption de l’énergie verte en Ontario. Le groupe travaille aussi sur des projets locaux, en collaboration avec d’autres communautés en Ontario.

BioDiversity Day at Charles Webster Public School

Responding to an impassioned invite from teacher George Lehto, SCO members Leslie, Francine, and Aleks visited Charles E. Webster Public School in Toronto where they met with students from the school’s eco-club. Webster P.S. is an ecoschool which means they focus on learning via connecting with conservation, environmentalism, and develop gardening, tree planting, on their property. 

Rouge National Urban Park: Opportunities for Enhancing Ecological Integrity

Little Rouge River as seen from Vista Trail platformPhoto by Alex Walker

The Sierra Club Ontario has long supported the protection and re-naturalization efforts within the Rouge Watershed, specifically within the Rouge National Urban Park. The Friends of the Rouge Watershed (FRW) have been advocating for the continued protection of the Rouge, especially as it relates the Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP) Management Plan.

GTA West Corridor Poisoned Dagger Aimed at Lake Ontario

When the Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, announced the termination of an environmental assessment for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) West Corridor in December of 2015, those who cherish the earth in Ontario gave a great sigh of relief. The proposed 50 kilometer-long expressway planned to slash through entirely environmental and agricultural zones, much of which is protected by the Greenbelt. The plan was a salt tipped dagger on Lake Ontario. 

Ontario Chapter hiring two summer interns

We have Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) grants to support two positions: a Research & Communications Intern and 'The Problem with Plastics' Intern.

Please review the job listings below, apply if you are interested, and share with others. We look forward to hearing from you!

Note: to qualify for CSJ positions you must a) be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment; and b) be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred.

Doug Ford’s Reforestation and Conservation Cuts Show He Has Historical Amnesia

www.johnbacherphd.ca
May 7, 2019


Reforestation and conservation cuts will only increase flooding and other environmental problems in an age when these problems are being amplified by climate change. We need to learn from past environmental mistakes if we wish to avoid repeating them.

 

New Ontario Government Energy Legislation Favours Big Business Over Consumers and the Environment

By David Poch, Green Energy Coalition

On March 21st Ontario Minister of Energy, Greg Rickford, released Bill 87, entitled Fixing the Hydro Mess. But rather than sustainably reducing consumer bills in Ontario it will enlarge the economic and environmental mess that past energy policies are visiting on the province. 

Diesel, people and the environment

Photo from Children's Clean Air Network

by Leslie Adams, SCO Executive Committee member

I hope that parents, school principal, and school board representatives in fact everyone!  read this. This year April 4, 2019, is Healthy Schools Day (HSD) in Canada, every year Annually HSD highlights an important challenge to children’s health and the environment.  Recognizing that awareness of an issue does not go far enough, HSD also outlines actions to take. The 2019 campaign focus is on the health impacts of diesel engine exhaust emissions and ways to reduce risk through exposure for the health of all. 

Ford Attacks Eco-Defenders Who Expose Secrecy and Deception

Written by Dr. John Bacher In a revealing move Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the shutdown of the newly created Local Planning Appeals Support Centre (LPASC). One of its important actions was to provide me with secret documents that had been suppressed improperly by the Niagara Falls Planning Department. These letters exposed how junk science paid for by a private developer was used to justify the destruction of provincially significant woodlands and wildlife habitat.

Radioactive Waste: Unacceptable Burdens on Future Generations

In 2015 the Harper Government gave five corporations based in the U.K., U.S. and Canada a 10-year contract to find fast and cheap ways to dispose of the federal government’s own radioactive waste. The corporations are proposing to build a massive above-ground radioactive waste mound at Chalk River, Ontario; and to convert federal nuclear reactors in Rolphton, Ontario and Pinawa, Manitoba into concrete tombs.

Ominous Meeting Begins Growth Plan Consultations

On November 8, 2108, the newly elected Ontario government began a procedure to revise land use planning processes in Ontario. The setting was the “Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Stakeholders Forum” which was held at the Ontario Room of the MacDonald Block at 900 Bay Street in Toronto on November 8, 2018. Also in attendance was Sierra Club Ontario Chapter’s own Dr. John Bacher. (Photo shows Thundering Waters wetlands where offsetting scheme was tried in past.

Green Energy: Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility - UPDATE

(Photo by Charissa Val Straalen) Two years ago, over 49 non-governmental organizations across Canada and the USA signed on to a letter asking both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama to address issues pertaining to a series of shipments of liquid radioactive waste from Chalk River in Ontario to the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. These shipments were along public roads and over bridges crossing the Great Lakes.

Urban Sustainability Blog #4: Minimizing Waste In and Out of the Home

Our last post in the urban sustainability series saw us giving advice on how to take advantage of alternative modes of transport to help reduce single-occupancy vehicle commutes in Ontario. Now, we are switching gears to focus on another growing problem in societies of all shapes and sizes: waste. Waste accumulation is leading to pollution on a massive scale, leading to severe consequences for wildlife and humans alike.