Ontario has opted out of the Environmental Assessment
The Province of Ontario has opted out of the Environmental Assessment of the Interprovincial Crossings Study although they are still a funding partner with the NCC and Quebec.
What does this mean?
- Ontario citizens are being denied the rights and protection of the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act which include the right to be consulted and to appeal to the Minister of the Environment about any aspect of the project.
- Ontario has given up decision making authority to the NCC for this entire project including the location of a bridge. John Baird, the minister responsible for the NCC and the final decision maker, has said he favours a bridge at Kettle Island.
- The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will not be triggered until after the bridge location has been selected. Even then there is no public appeal process under this legislation.
- Under the Ontario EA Act, all the work done by the consultants is subject to review and approval by the Minister of the Environment. No such review or approval exists under the Canadian EA Act until after the bridge location is selected; therefore, to date, there has been no accountability by the consultants.
- Quebec has not opted out. The protection of their EA Act applies to this project.
What can you do?
ASAP, email our Ontario politicians, requesting that Ontario opts back in to the Environmental Assessment for the Interprovincial Crossings study.
To Premier McGuinty mcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Cc: Minister of Transportation Wynne minister@mto.gov.on.ca
Cc: Minister of the Environment Gerretsen minister.moe@ontario.ca
Cc: Our MPP Madeleine Meilleur mmeilleur.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Each person in your household should send a separate email as numbers count. Feel free to reference the points above, or any other material on this website. A short e-mail will suffice.
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May 7th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
[...] presented in an earlier posting (Ontario has opted out of the Environmental Assessment), it is important for us to raise these concerns with our provincial politicians, to lobby them to [...]
May 27th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
[...] highlighted was the importance of continuing the letter-writing campaign to persuade the Province of Ontario to opt back [...]
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:42 pm
The Kettle island Bridge proposal is a major platform in the election campaign of richard Cannings. he has been unequivicably against it since the mid 1990’s.
Check out his site at
http://www.vote-cannings.com