Published plans and annual reports 2021-2022: Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks

Ministry overview

Ministry’s vision

• Maintaining core work that provides strong environmental protections to safeguard our air, land, water and climate for all Ontarians today and in the future, while finding efficiencies and building a sustainable and modern ministry.
• Building a service-focused organization that engages with Ontario residents and businesses in a modern and efficient way without impacting core ministry activities.

Purpose and contribution to priority outcomes

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is responsible for monitoring and protecting our air, land and water, species at risk and their habitat and addressing climate change while helping communities prepare for its impacts, reducing litter and waste, and managing Ontario’s parks and conservation reserves now and for future generations of Ontarians.

The ministry is also committed to implementing the most effective and affordable evidence-based solutions to protect our environment, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to the impacts of a changing climate.

Our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan outlines practical, sensible and affordable solutions to some of our province’s most pressing environmental concerns, including climate change, and encourages all Ontarians to take meaningful action to protect and preserve our natural environment.

In 2021-22, we will continue to evolve the Environment Plan in a way that addresses new opportunities and works for our diverse communities, including rural, Northern and Indigenous communities, while supporting government actions to keep Ontarians safe during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

COVID‑19 response

Nothing is more important than protecting the health and wellbeing of Ontarians.

The ministry continues to take action to stop the spread of the virus and support partners and industries that have been heavily impacted by public health and safety measures related to COVID‑19, including:

• Offering more flexible engagement with Indigenous communities, who may have challenges in sharing back feedback on programs and policies. The ministry continues to reach out directly to communities, provide information on the proposed actions, extend review deadlines and extend offers to discuss the proposal with them through teleconferences or other virtual means.
• Adapting and responding to the various provincial and regional orders or restrictions by implementing safety measures, including limiting recreational activities available as appropriate, cancelling camping and roofed accommodations to keep visitors and staff safe, and supporting compliance with the restrictions.
• Investing $3.9 million over three years to enhance the provincial park experience by using technology to better connect the people of Ontario with recreational opportunities. The province and local businesses will collaborate to develop ideas to bolster Ontario’s tourism economy and create new ways to enjoy provincial parks.
• Testing wastewater for COVID‑19 at municipal wastewater treatment plants as well as in some First Nations, long-term care homes, shelters and correctional facilities. Together with clinical and public health data, wastewater monitoring can help local public health units identify ‘hot spots’ for the virus in communities, to enable more timely decisions about how and where to mobilize resources in response.
• Proposing changes that would allow the ministry to act quickly to ensure the province’s drinking water and waterways are protected during an emergency. Proposed changes include extending operator certificates, giving operators extra time to complete mandatory training and allowing certain qualified but non-certified staff to temporarily maintain system operations during emergencies. Allowing wastewater training to be averaged over three years is also being proposed for ongoing greater flexibility.
• Using data collected at our comprehensive network of air monitoring stations across the province to assess the impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic on air quality in Ontario.
• Continuing to modernize the environmental assessment program including upcoming public consultation on the proposed Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Project List and proposed streamlined environmental regulations, which will help speed our province’s economic recovery by getting important infrastructure projects started more quickly.
• Continuing support for Public Health Ontario’s Hamilton laboratory by analyzing drinking water samples so Public Health Ontario can focus more on COVID‑19 clinical testing.

The ministry is committed to full transparency on all decision making and will continue to address urgent needs on a case-by-case basis in collaboration with the regulated community, Indigenous communities, the public and other government ministries as appropriate.

Ministry programs

Our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan outlines our top environmental concerns, including climate change, and the keys to our province’s future success. The themes and priorities listed below showcase the creative and innovative ways our programs and services meet those challenges and our commitment to protecting and conserving our environment:

• Addressing climate change
• Reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill
• Keeping our water safe and clean
• Protecting our air
• Protecting natural spaces and species
• Holding polluters accountable
• Supporting infrastructure development while ensuring environmental protection

Addressing climate change

We are committed to taking meaningful action to help communities prepare for the impacts of climate change and lower greenhouse gas emissions to meet our 2030 target.

We will:

• Work with the federal government to ensure a smooth transition for industry to Ontario’s emissions performance standards program.
• Finish the phase out of coal by supporting efforts of Ontario industry to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by reducing and phasing out their use of coal.
• Provide young Ontarians with more opportunities to share their insights and ideas on addressing climate change, by establishing a youth climate advisory group.
• Develop Ontario’s first-ever low-carbon hydrogen strategy that would create jobs, support economic recovery while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
• Continue to look at ways we can support the clean technology sector as part of our broader economic growth and recovery efforts.
• Release the Advisory Panel on Climate Change’s final report, with advice to the province on implementing its climate change actions, especially how Ontario can prepare for the costs and impacts of climate change. The ministry anticipates receiving the final progress in fall 2021.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will also continue to contribute to and participate in environmental groups in Canada and abroad, such as the Green Ribbon Panel, a collection of environmental and economic leaders from across Canada.

Reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill

Ontario is committed to keeping our neighbourhoods, parks, and waterways clean and free of litter and waste.

We will:

• Update the Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario to reflect the province’s roadmap to reduce and divert waste over the next 10 years.
• Finalize the hazardous waste and special waste regulations as part of the transition to the producer responsibility model.
• Consult on the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional waste reform framework to improve the current waste diversion activities within this sector.
• Consult on a proposal to phase out food and organic waste from landfills by 2030 that will focus on building processing capacity in the province.
• Provide guidance to educate the public and key stakeholders about reducing and diverting food and organic waste.
• Work with the federal government to develop a path forward for compostable packaging, including looking at standards and supporting pilot testing of processing, so that emerging and innovative products and packaging can be managed appropriately in Ontario’s existing processing facilities.
• Seek input on thermal treatments and chemical recycling as a method for recovering value from waste and keeping valuable resources out of landfills.
• Work with partners to conduct audits to identify materials that could be recovered and recycled rather than sent to landfills. Audits would help identify new materials that could be designated under producer responsibility in an effort to recover high-volume resource streams to increase diversion and phase out these items from being sent to the landfill.
• Explore opportunities to better manage landfills, such as working with industry to better understand any issues, promote best practices to support better management and operation of landfills and improve opportunities for landfill gas capture.
• Cut regulatory red tape and modernize environmental approvals to support sustainable end markets for waste and new waste processing infrastructure, including support for emerging and innovative technologies, such as mixed waste processing.
• Continue to promote and educate, through the Day of Action on Litter, the impacts of litter and waste in the natural environment.
• The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority will continue developing digital services to support hazardous waste program stakeholders to report their activities, which will help hold polluters accountable for the wastes they generate.

Keeping our water safe and clean

We’re committed to ensuring our drinking water is safe to drink and that our lakes and waterways are protected.

We will:

• Finalize the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health that will help guide actions by the federal and provincial governments to address the most significant challenges facing the Great Lakes.
• Finalize the amendments to the technical rules for source protection plans under the Clean Water Act, 2006 to ensure to the quality of Ontario’s drinking water continues to be protected and supported by current science.
• Finalize the projects for the Great Lakes Local Action Fund to support new and innovative actions that benefit the Great Lakes and their communities.
• Implement enhancements to Ontario’s water taking program and continuing to make new water quantity data and easy-to-understand and science-based content available online to help improve water quantity management in Ontario.
• Launch a new online system and user-friendly digital solutions that will improve public reporting of pollution incidents and ministry response times.
• Following extensive public consultations as part of the 10-year review of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, we are reviewing the feedback received to determine if the plan needs to be amended as we continue to protect and restore the lake.
• Begin consultations as part of the review of Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy and releasing the second Great Lakes Strategy Progress Report.
• Start the review of our Provincial Water Quality Objectives to ensure consistent protective benchmarks are used across the province.
• Continue work to complete the engineering and design plan to remediate contaminated sediments in the St. Clair River.
• Consult on current policies and further actions to reduce levels of lead in drinking water and increase transparency in reporting results.
• Continue to provide in-kind technical support to on-reserve Indigenous communities to help resolve Long-Term Drinking Water Advisories (LTWDAs) and promote the long-term sustainability of water and wastewater systems.
• Consult on the draft low-impact development guidance manual to help municipalities, property owners, planners, developers and others to manage rain where it falls, reduce flooding risks and increase resiliency to climate change.
• Invest in several new and innovative wastewater and stormwater programs starting in 2021-22, including:
  • $15 million over two years to support municipalities to improve the management of Lake Ontario wastewater and stormwater discharges.
  • $10 million over two years to provide support for wastewater monitoring and public reporting to improve transparency around monitoring and public reporting of sewage overflows and bypasses from municipal systems in the Great Lakes.

Protecting our air

To protect our air and maintain strong environmental standards, we will:

• Continue our work with the public, municipalities, Indigenous communities, environmental groups and industry to drive strategies that better protect air quality and address unique challenges in communities by creating tailored solutions.
• Publish the next Air Quality in Ontario Report (2019 data). The 2019 report marks 49 years of reporting on air quality in Ontario.
• Continue working with industry, First Nations and other partners on the Sarnia Area Environment Health Project to assess the risk of air pollution in the Sarnia area.

Protecting natural spaces and species

Supporting conservation efforts and preserving Ontario’s rich biodiversity is a key pillar of our Environment Plan.

We will:

• Provide free day-use at over 110 provincial parks where fees are collected from Mondays to Thursdays throughout summer 2021, making it easier to get outdoors and enjoy nature.
• Pilot online daily vehicle permits for 17 select provincial parks, providing visitors with greater certainty when planning park visits by offering guaranteed access to the park.
• Partner with the private sector to find innovative ideas for new recreation experiences at provincial parks, while enhancing existing programs and services to improve Ontario Parks for all visitors.
• Support additional wetland enhancement and restoration projects in priority areas of Ontario through the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program, as part of a $30 million investment over 5 years.
• Provide online tools to extend the reach of Ontario Parks Discovery Education programs.
• Continue to invest in Ontario’s land conservation efforts by providing partially matched funding over the next four years to land trusts for the purchase of new privately-owned protected areas, their management and restoration, as part of a $20 million investment over 4 years.
• Support the Earth Rangers, a youth-focused conservation organization dedicated to educating children and their families about biodiversity, protecting animals and their habitats.
• Establish the Protected Areas Working Group to identify opportunities to protect more areas in the province and how public-private partnerships can be used to help support Ontario’s conservation efforts.
• Reinvest in the Ontario Community Environment Fund (OCEF) by making available almost $900,000 in funds collected from environmental penalties to support projects that improve the environment and give people opportunities to experience nature, such as tree planting or increasing naturalized areas for habitat improvement.
• Build on past initiatives like Ontario’s Living Legacy, starting with a proposal to designate Ostrander Crown Land Block and Point Petre Provincial Wildlife Area, two ecologically significant areas along the southern shore of Prince Edward County, as a conservation reserve.
• Consult on and introduce a series of regulatory proposals to implement recent legislative changes to conservation authorities, including:
  • Further defining mandatory programs and services conservation authorities will be required to provide, and
  • What is required of conservation authorities and municipalities in planning their transition to the new operating and funding model.
  • Details on municipal levies related to programs and services.

Holding polluters accountable

We are working to strengthen the province’s enforcement tools to hold polluters accountable and ensure compliance with environmental laws.

We will:

• Continue to carry out compliance promotion, inspections, audits, investigations and prosecutions to support compliance through risk-based regulatory programs that consider official directives during the COVID‑19 provincial outbreak, legal requirements, and emerging issues by using a comprehensive suite of compliance tools, to protect the environment and human health from regulatory non-compliance, pollution incidents, and spills.
• Engage with stakeholders on how to implement the new administrative monetary penalties framework and development of the draft regulations and guidance.
• Post to the Environmental Registry of Ontario for consultation, multiple compliance initiatives that include proposed odour guideline, updates to the ministry’s compliance policy, draft administrative monetary penalties regulations and other guidelines

Supporting infrastructure development while ensuring environmental protection

Our government is committed to balancing strong environmental oversight with modernizing review processes, ensuring priority projects are built faster.

We will:

• Review comments on a proposed list of projects that will be subject to the comprehensive environmental assessment requirements in the revised Environmental Assessment Act and sets out the types of projects that would be subject to the streamlined environmental assessment provisions of the amended Act. This project list is a key component of the transformational change required to modernize the environmental assessment program.

2021-22 strategic plan

Through commitments in the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is taking action to ensure the right balance between a healthy environment and a healthy economy and looking at new, smarter solutions and modern ways to support communities and businesses.

Our efforts align with the government’s ongoing work to restore sustainability to the province’s finances and make programs and services more effective and efficient, while maintaining Ontario’s high standards to keep people safe and healthy, increase resiliency to climate change and protect the environment.

The ministry’s 2021-22 Strategic Plan focuses on three main objectives:

• Continuing to protect, restore and enhance our environment based on the actions and commitments in our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan
• Maintaining a sustainable long-term multi-year plan
• Making sure Ontario Parks has the business tools it needs to deliver a world class experience.

The ministry will also continue to work on modernizing and transforming programs, such as streamlining permissions for projects and activities where environmental risks are low and/or well understood. Through collaboration with our colleagues and our clients, the ministry continues to explore other sectors and activities that may be suitable for a streamlined permissions approach and to encourage opportunities for innovation.

In the year ahead, we will continue to focus on implementing our transformation plan and finding efficiencies that leverage technology and streamline processes while maintaining core business that ensures strong environmental protection to safeguard the province’s air, land, water and climate.

Note: Including statutory appropriations, consolidation and other adjustments (not including assets). Numbers may not add due to rounding.

2021-22 estimates

Ministry budget by program: operating and capital ($ millions)

Note: Excludes assets and consolidation. Total may not add due to rounding.

Ministry budget by standard account: operating and capital ($ millions)

Note: Excludes assets and consolidation. Total may not add due to rounding.

Detailed financial information

Historic trend analysis data

For additional financial information, see:

• Expenditure Estimates
• Public Accounts of Ontario: past editions
• 2021 Ontario Budget

Agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs)

Note: Detailed financial information for Ontario Clean Water Agency, Ontario Climate Change Solutions Deployment Corporation, and Walkerton Clean Water Centre is provided in their business plans.

Note: The Ontario Pesticides Advisory Committee was dissolved effective May 1, 2020.

Key performance indicators and achievements

Legislation administered by the ministry

• Adams Mine Lake Act, 2004
• Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018
• Capital Investment Plan Act, 1993 (Par  IV re: Ontario Clean Water Agency only)
• Clean Water Act, 2006
• Conservation Authorities Act (together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)
• Consolidated Hearings Act
• Endangered Species Act, 2007
• English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Funding Act, 2017
• Environmental Assessment Act
• Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993
• Environmental Protection Act
• Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015
• Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003
• Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008
• Ministry of the Environment Act
• Ministry of Natural Resources Act (together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)
• Municipal Water and Sewage Transfer Act, 1997
• Nutrient Management Act, 2002 (together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)
• Ontario Water Resources Act
• Pesticides Act
• Provincial Day of Action on Litter Act, 2019
• Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006
• Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016
• Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002
• Toxics Reduction Act, 2009
• Waste Diversion Transition Act, 2016
• Water Opportunities Act, 2010 (except for Part II)

Ministry organization chart

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks – April 1, 2021

The chart shows the following hierarchical structure with the top level assigned to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

• Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks - Honourable Jeff Yurek
  • Group of 10 government entities
    • Ontario Clean Water Agency
    • Walkerton Clean Water Centre
    • Advisory Council on Drinking Water Quality & Testing Standards
    • Lake Simcoe Coordinating Committee
    • Lake Simcoe Science Committee
    • Committee On Status of Species At Risk Ontario
    • Species At Risk Advisory Board
    • Ontario Parks Board of Directors
    • Advisory Panel on Climate Change
    • Muskoka Watershed Advisory Group
  • Deputy Minister – S. Imbrogno
    • Communications Branch – C. Beckett
    • Legal Services Branch – T. McKinlay
    • Land and Resources Cluster – R. Passero
    • Resource Audit Branch – A. Piattella (A)
    • Environmental Policy Division – ADM – K. Moore (A)
      • Strategic Policy and Partnership Branch - M. Stickings
      • Environmental Policy Branch - R. Kurtes
      • Program Management Branch – K. Li (A)
      • Resource Recovery Policy Branch - C. O’Hara (A)
    • Climate Change and Resiliency Division – ADM – A. Wood
      • Climate Change Policy Branch – P. Fancott (A)
      • Climate Change Programs and Partnerships Branch – F. Abdulrarsul (A)
      • Adaptation & Resilience Branch - H. Pearson (A)
      • Financial Instruments Branch - T. Johnson (A)
      • Environmental Economics Branch – C. Golding (A)
    • Land and Water Division – ADM – C. Stuart
      • Ontario Parks - J. Travers
      • Species at Risk Branch - S. Ecclestone
      • Great Lakes & Inland Waters Branch - L. Mark
      • Conservation and Source Protection Branch - S. Ecclestone (A)
    • Environmental Sciences and Standards Division – ADM – O. Salamon
      • Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch – K. McKague
      • Technical Assessment & Standards Development Branch – J. Schroeder
      • Laboratory Services Branch – J. Odumeru
    • Environmental Assessment and Permissions Division – ADM – S. Paul
      • Client Services & Permissions Branch - I. Scovino (A)
      • Environmental Permissions Branch - H. Malcolmson
      • Environmental Assessment Branch - K. O’ Neill (A)
      • Environmental Assessment Modernizatio - A. Cross (A)
    • Drinking Water & Environmental Compliance Division – ADM / Chief Drinking Water Inspector / Chief Compliance Officer – A. Pilla (A)
      • Southwest Region – L. Orphan
      • Divisional Compliance Branch - M. Dunn (A)
      • Strategic Delivery Branch - K. Puhlmann (A)
      • West Central Region – L. Hussain
      • Northern Region – F. Miklas
      • Indigenous Drinking Water Projects Office – I. Prashad
      • Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch - M. Evers
      • Central Region – L. Trevisan
      • Eastern Region – P. Taylor (A)
      • Waste Water Surveillance Project - S. Carrasco (A)
    • Corporate Management Division – ADM
      Chief Administrative Officer – G. Wootton
      • Information Management and Access Branch – B. Gildner (A)
      • Business & Fiscal Planning Branch – S. Tao
      • Science Complex Capital Project Office - A. Roberts
      • Strategic Human Resources Branch – J. LeGris

Appendix: 2020-21 annual report

2020-21 results

In 2020, our government marked the second anniversary of the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan, a blueprint to protecting and conserving our environment, addressing climate change and ensuring that Ontario’s natural beauty could be enjoyed for generations to come. Since the release of the Environment Plan, significant opportunities and challenges have emerged, such as the wide-reaching impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic, as well as new innovations and technologies, including clean technology and hydrogen. As a result, we continue to evolve our Environment Plan to address the environmental priorities of Ontarians as new information, ideas and innovations emerge.

This past November, we re-affirmed our commitment to the goals set out in this plan and taking meaningful action to protect communities and preserve our natural environment. In working with our partners, communities, organizations and industry, we have been able to achieve significant progress on our priority initiatives and risen to meet new challenges. We remain focused on balancing a healthy economy and healthy environment and keeping Ontario clean and beautiful.

COVID‑19 response

Since first learning of COVID‑19, Ontario has taken decisive action to contain the spread of this new virus.

To support government actions to keep Ontarians safe during this time and ensure continuity of critical operations, in 2020-2021 the ministry quickly responded with a number of temporary measures, such as:

• Supporting Ontario’s Jobs and Recovery Committee by consulting with sectors including parks and conservation areas, waste and green tech sectors to understand how they’ve been impacted by COVID‑19 and develop a plan to move forward.
• Providing immediate relief for over 300 resource-based tourism businesses located in provincial parks and conservation reserves by temporarily reducing and deferring certain license and land use fees for 2020.
• Investing over $5 million to help food rescue organizations and Indigenous communities safely collect, preserve and distribute unused, high-quality surplus food from places like grocery stores and restaurants to those in need during COVID‑19 and beyond, ensuring fresh food does not go to waste.
• Suspending emissions testing for heavy duty commercial vehicles from March 23, 2020 to May 19, 2020.
• Enacting an emergency order that temporarily allowed drinking water and wastewater systems to use qualified, non-certified staff and to redeploy staff to maintain system operations so they could address staffing shortages if, and when, they arose. The emergency order also extended any operator certificates and licences that expired during the emergency order period.
• Investing over $12 million over two years in the development of a COVID‑19 wastewater surveillance initiative to test wastewater samples in communities across the province. The provincial funding builds on the work already underway in several municipalities across Ontario that are successfully testing wastewater and enables continued efforts to monitor the COVID‑19 activity in communities.
• Adapting and responding to the various provincial and regional orders or restrictions by implementing safety measures at provincial parks, including limiting recreational activities available as appropriate, cancelling camping and roofed accommodations to keep visitors and staff safe, and support compliance with the restrictions.

These temporary actions were taken to support physical distancing and ensure operations can continue and goods and services can be delivered to the people of Ontario, without compromising health, safety or the environment.

Progress to date

With our Environment Plan as a blueprint, and with the support of our community organizations, industry and other partners, we have made considerable progress on our commitments. The actions below illustrate how our accomplishments over the past year have contributed towards addressing our environmental priorities.

Addressing climate change

To address climate change, we continue to find effective and affordable ways to slow down climate change and build more resilient communities to prepare for its effects.

We have:

• Finalized and received federal recognition of Ontario’s emissions performance standards to ensure large, industrial emitters are accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions.
• Matched a $295 million investment with the federal government to retool Ford of Canada’s Oakville Assembly Complex into a global hub for battery electric vehicle production. This investment ensures our province continues to lead North America and the world in automotive manufacturing and innovation, while boosting our competitiveness in this key sector, creating jobs, and supporting a low-carbon, clean-growth economy.
• Created the Cleaner Transportation Fuels regulation that increases requirements for renewable content in gasoline while maintaining requirements for diesel. The regulation requires fuel suppliers to blend renewable content (such as ethanol) in gasoline to 11% in 2025, 13% in 2028 and 15% in 2030.
• We also transferred technical requirements, including fuel quality standards, to our new technical guideline under the Cleaner Transportation Fuels regulation. These changes will allow us to be nimbler in the updates we make, for example adopting a new lifecycle model or new technology, data, and methodologies.
• The Province signed “Preliminary Agreements” with the City of Toronto and York Region, in February and May 2020 respectively, to formalize the Ontario-Toronto and Ontario-York Region Transit Partnerships. These historic partnerships will enable the delivery of significant expansion and modernization of public transit, including through the implementation of priority projects identified in Ontario’s New Subway Transit Plan for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
• Released a low-carbon hydrogen discussion paper to inform a low-carbon hydrogen strategy that could create jobs and help with economic recovery while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Created a working group to provide advice and recommendations to inform the development of Ontario’s hydrogen strategy.
• Launched the first-ever broad, multi-sector provincial climate change impact assessment to identify where the province is vulnerable to climate change. Following a competitive procurement process, Ontario selected a consulting team led by the Climate Risk Institute to conduct the assessment.
• Issued $4.95 billion in green bonds to help finance public transit initiatives, extreme-weather resistant infrastructure, and energy efficiency and conservation projects.
• Provided ongoing Secretariat support for an advisory panel on climate change that is providing the minister with expert advice on the implementation of the province’s climate change actions, especially on how Ontario can prepare for the costs and impacts of climate change.
• Updated the Provincial Policy Statement to include changes to enhance direction for planning authorities to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. It also includes enhanced stormwater management policies to protect water and support climate resilience.
• Province extended and increased funding to $2 million for the “Build Back Better” pilot project, through which the province provided municipalities that qualified for Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance funding up to 15% above the estimated cost of rebuilding damaged public infrastructure to make it more resilient to extreme weather.

Reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill

Ontario is committed to reducing litter and waste in our communities and keeping our land and soil clean.

• We made the following progress on the transition to the producer responsibility model:
  • Proposed changes to the Blue Box regulation to improve recycling and address the serious problem of plastic pollution and litter by making producers fully responsible for the cost and operation of the program starting in 2023.
  • Filed a new producer responsibility regulation for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) that came into effect on January 1, 2021. This regulation requires that producers collect and safely manage the full life-cycle of their electrical and electronic equipment, such as cell phones, computers, printers and gaming equipment.
  • Filed a new Batteries Regulation that came into effect on July 1, 2020, placing requirements on producers of primary and rechargeable batteries that weigh five kilograms or less and are sold separately from products
  • Began consulting on a hazardous waste regulation that would transition the delivery of hazardous waste digital reporting services to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority. These changes would make reporting easier and faster for the regulated community, while providing more timely, accurate information to the ministry, which will hold polluters accountable for the wastes they generate.
• Launched a working group and released proposed amendments to the food and organic waste policy statement to clarify and expand the types of materials that should be collected by municipalities in green bins and encourage innovation in the processing of compostable products.
• Provided over a $5 million investment through the Surplus Food Redistribution Infrastructure program to help food rescue organizations divert high quality food to those who need it and out of landfill.
• Enacted legislation to establish the second Tuesday of May each year as Ontario’s Provincial Day of Action on Litter.
• Continued to work with other provinces, territories, and the federal government on the development of an action plan to implement a Canada-wide plastics strategy, including single-use plastic waste.
• Raised awareness about the impacts of litter and waste in our neighbourhoods, waterways and green spaces and encourage participation in safe cleanups during Waste Reduction Week with members of your household.
• Provided municipalities with greater say in the siting of landfills in or near their communities.

Keeping our water safe and clean

Our lakes, waterways and groundwater are the foundation of Ontario’s economic prosperity and wellbeing. We have:

• Continued to protect Ontario’s drinking water:
  • The 2019-20 Chief Drinking Water Inspector’s Annual Report was released in December 2020 and confirmed that Ontario’s drinking water systems continue to provide high-quality drinking water. The 2019-20 data shows that 99.9 per cent of more than 523,000 drinking water tests from municipal residential drinking water systems met Ontario’s strict, health-based drinking water standards.
  • The ministry worked with First Nations communities to assess water and wastewater infrastructure against Ontario’s standards off-reserve, provided support on drinking water operator training and certification, and offered guidance and advice related to source water protection planning, upon request. As of March 31, 2021, 63 water and 17 wastewater assessments have been conducted at 59 First Nations communities.
  • As of March 12, 2021, Indigenous Services Canada is monitoring 58 Long-Term Drinking Water Advisories (LTDWAs) in 38 First Nations communities across Canada. Over two-thirds of these communities are in Ontario.
  • In Ontario, as of March 12, 2021, there were 43 LTDWAs in 26 First Nations communities, with 42 LTDWAs resolved since 2015.
• Advanced how water quantity and quality is managed in Ontario to make sure we have sustainable water resources now and in the future:
  • Validated the ministry’s findings on water bottling through an independent third-party panel from Professional Geoscientists Ontario and retained an expert water resources consulting firm to assess water resources in the province.
  • Finalized enhancementsto Ontario’s water taking program, implemented on April 1, 2021, including requiring water bottling companies to have the support of their host municipalities for new or increased water takings in their communities.
  • Proposed updates to technical rules for source protection plans to assess risks under the Clean Water Act. 2006, including new delineations of areas where road salt may pose a risk, to protect the quality of Ontario’s drinking water sources.
  • Continued implementing source protection plans under the Clean Water Act, 2006 by integrating source protection into other provincial programs, such as spills response, permits and approvals, and working groups addressing the impact of road salt.
  • Invested in building local capacity at source protection authorities (conservation authorities) through funding and guidance to support the maintenance of source protection committees and source protection plans.
  • Provided training and certification to Risk Management Officials and Inspectors to support municipalities in meeting their obligations in drinking water source protection.
  • Improved the online Source Protection Information Atlas that provides a province-wide view to municipalities and the public of more than 1,100 wellhead protection areas and intake protection zones.
  • Approved locally initiated amendments to source protection plans to keep them current and further protect sources of drinking water.
• Invested in actions that will help protect and restore the Great Lakes:
  • Provided $5.8 million in funding for Great Lakes projects run by communities, organizations, universities and Indigenous peoples that will focus on improving water quality, and will have committed an additional $6.34 million in funding for new projects by the end of 2020-21.
  • Launched the new Great Lakes Local Action Fund, a new program that will be committing $1.9 million in funding for local projects that have a positive environmental impact on the Great Lakes and their communities.
  • Invested $375,000 to collect plastic waste from marinas around the province using innovative plastic-capture technology.
• Continued federal-provincial collaboration in areas such as protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and Ontario’s inland waterways:
  • Partnered with Canada on the release of a draft new Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health (COA)to protect Great Lakes water quality from threats such as harmful pollutants, algal blooms, invasive species and the effects of climate change.
  • MECP led the implementation of the Great Lakes Program in partnership with OMAFRA and MNRF who provide leadership and oversight on key commitments in the Canada-Ontario Agreement.
  • Achieved progress on Remedial Action Plans through coordinated project work with many local partners, furthering progress on delisting Areas of Concern
  • Assisted Canada with implementation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement through COA. Ontario contributed expertise on numerous commitments including supporting Lake-wide Action and Management Plans helping to facilitate information sharing, set priorities and coordinate binational environmental protection and restoration work.
  • Made progress on the Canada-Ontario Lake Erie Action Plan by establishing an implementation team, working with municipalities to better manage wastewater and stormwater impacts, working with agriculture on reducing phosphorus run-off, supporting wetland restoration in the Lake Erie watershed, and continuing to monitor and improve science.
  • Co-chaired a Great Lakes Guardians’ Council meeting on April 23, 2019, with Grand Council Chief Glen Hare of Anishinabek Nation to host a productive dialogue with First Nations, Métis, conservation and environmental stakeholders, academia, and industry representatives, as well as Ontario’s Great Lakes ministers, about how to tackle the challenges to our water resources and protect the Great Lakes.
  • Invested $11.1 million in the Randle Reef Sediment Remediation Project, a significant step towards delisting Hamilton Harbour as a Great Lakes Area of Concern.
• Continued to protect inland waters and vulnerable waterways:
  • Completed the formal engagement period for the 10-year review of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. The review consisted of an online public survey and an option to submit feedback by email, two virtual engagement events, and meetings with stakeholder groups and Indigenous communities as well as with the minister’s Lake Simcoe Coordinating and Science Committees.
  • Released the Minister’s 10-Year Report on Lake Simcoe, which outlines improvements in the health of the lake after a decade of actions and programs under the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.
  • Invested $581,000 in four projects in 2019-20 to help find better ways to reduce the amount of pollutants, such as phosphorus, from entering Lake Simcoe, and we will have committed an additional $2.01 million in funding for new projects by the end of 2020-21.
  • Participated on the English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Panel with Indigenous communities to fund work related to the remediation of mercury-contaminated sediment in the English and Wabigoon Rivers. Funds are distributed from the $85 million trust that was established under the English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Funding Act, 2017.
  • Continued to work to complete the engineering and design plan to remediate contaminated sediments in the St. Clair River.
  • Established the Muskoka Watershed Advisory Group as part of the $5 million initiative to better identify risks and issues facing the Muskoka Region and its watershed.
  • Published the Muskoka Watershed Advisory Group’s Interim Report on ontario.ca, which will inform the ministry’s next steps to protect this important watershed.
  • Renewed partnerships with District Municipality of Muskoka and Federation of Cottagers’ Associations to support citizen science for inland lakes monitoring.
• Supported Public Health Ontario’s Hamilton laboratory by analyzing hundreds of drinking water samples per month so Public Health Ontario can focus more on COVID‑19 clinical testing.
• Began consultations as part of the review of Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy and upcoming release of the second Great Lakes Strategy Progress Report.
• Mapped water quality and nutrient levels at over 60 kilometres of Lake Ontario shoreline extending from the cities of Toronto, Mississauga and beyond that can be used as a benchmark to evaluate future change over this growing urban area.
• Implemented the Bypass and Overflow Portal of the Environmental Compliance Hub Ontario (ECHO) system with a select group of municipalities and the Ontario Clean Water Agency that will enable safe and effective management of stormwater and wastewater.

Protecting our air

We are committed to protecting our air, ensuring we have strong environmental standards that are protective of human health and the environment, and taking action to enforce local air quality standards.

We have:

• Implemented an enhanced emissions testing program for commercial trucks and buses that will protect the air we breathe.
• Continued to implement the Sarnia Area Environment Health Project by working with partners to help address local air quality concerns. The ministry:
  • Formed a multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee with representatives from First Nations, industry, community groups, municipalities and health agencies
  • Worked with Aamjiwnaang First Nation and Ryerson University, and secured funding commitments from the federal government, on the plant study portion of the project
  • Conducted multi-source modelling of and carried out data analysis for five priority chemicals (PM2.5, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, benzo[a]pyrene, and sulphur dioxide) to inform the air exposure review
• Continued to deliver our Air Quality Health Index(AQHI) with Environment and Climate Change Canada through a network of 39 ambient air quality monitoring stations across the province to measure and track common air pollutants and provide the public with real-time air pollutant data.
  • Enhanced our Air Quality Health Index(AQHI) network with a new Milton AQHI air monitoring station to address the needs of Halton-Peel and better understand the unique airshed in southern Ontario
• Continued to operate a roadside air monitoring network in Toronto in partnership with the University of Toronto and Environment and Climate Change Canada to better understand traffic-related air pollution in highly urbanized environments.
  • Enhanced the roadside network with new technology in Hamilton to help interpret traffic-related pollutant measurements.
• Assessed the impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic on air quality in Ontario by using data collected at our network of roadside air monitoring stations that show that concentrations of several common air pollutants associated with transportation and other major emissions sources generally decreased during the initial stages of the provincial declaration of an emergency.
• Continued our air quality reporting that confirms Ontario’s actions to reduce airborne pollutants are working and that regional air quality has been steadily improving in Ontario for many common air pollutants over the past 10 years.

Protecting natural spaces and species

We are committed to protecting the natural spaces across Ontario, such as forests, wetlands and parks that purify our air and water, protect biodiversity and natural heritage, provide recreational opportunities and support Indigenous traditional practices.

We have:

• Committed to investing $20 million over the next four years to the Greenlands Conservation Partnership to support Ontario’s land conservation efforts by providing partially matched funding to land trusts for the purchase of new privately-owned protected areas, their management and restoration.
• Invested $6 million over the next five years to electrify more campsites and revitalize and expand the number of roofed accommodations in Ontario Parks as part of ongoing investments.
• Provided nearly $4.5 million in funding through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program to support non-profit organizations, Indigenous communities and other stakeholder groups who are working to help protect and recover species at risk through local projects.
• Continued funding to the Greenbelt Foundation through a $12 million agreement over three years, to enable the organization to advance projects that preserve, protect and restore the environmental and agricultural integrity of the Greenbelt.
• Introduced legislation to further define the core mandate of conservation authorities. These changes will improve the governance, oversight and accountability of conservation authorities, while respecting taxpayer dollars by giving municipalities more say over the conservation authority services they pay for.
• Worked to provide a world-class parks experience that increases the number of visitors to Ontario Parks and provides important health benefits, while protecting and preserving our province’s cherished natural spaces. This year we:
  • Provided more opportunities for Ontarians to visit provincial parks and enjoy the health benefits of nature through promotional programs, including free day-use entry on Canada Day, and for high school graduates in the summer, supporting the Healthy Parks Healthy People movement.
  • Made it more affordable and accessible for Ontarians to enjoy provincial parks by reducing the price of the popular seasonal day-use vehicle permits by up to 36 per cent and increasing the number of day-use vehicle permits that can be borrowed from public libraries, free of charge.
• Continued to support conservation and environmental planning by collecting information on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, a globally significant wetland and carbon store.

Holding polluters accountable

Ontario is strengthening enforcement tools to hold polluters accountable to protect and preserve our air, land and water.

• The ministry adjusted its planned inspections to ensure the health and safety of staff during the COVID‑19 pandemic. 2020-21 inspection results are currently being finalized and are expected to be available in May 2021. The ministry continues to employ the tools and practices of a modern regulator to ensure compliance program delivery is designed to prevent and mitigate environmental concerns. This includes approaches to risk-based inspections and investigations that address high risks and repeat non-compliance.
• We passed legislation that expands the use of administrative monetary penalties and will create a more efficient, effective, and fair enforcement framework for our environmental laws and better cover the ministry’s entire compliance community.

Supporting infrastructure development while ensuring environmental protection

To modernize our review processes and reduce red tape, while ensuring that strong environmental oversight is maintained, we have:

• Made enabling changes to the Environmental Assessment Act that, along with updated regulations and guidance, will allow us to focus our efforts on high-risks projects.
• Made changes to the Environmental Assessment Act to give local municipalities more say in landfill approvals by requiring new, large landfill applicants to ensure there is local support from host municipalities, and certain neighbouring municipalities.
• Released a proposal to modernize Ontario’s environmental approval process for low-risk municipal sewage works by implementing a Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach that would eliminate costly construction delays while maintaining strong environmental protections.
• Took steps to make it safer and easier to use local excess soil and put vacant, prime lands back into good use while maintaining strong environmental protections to stop illegal dumping of contaminated soil.
• Consulted on updated brownfields guidance so property owners and qualified professionals have a clearer understanding of provincial requirements and expectations to help redevelop contaminated sites faster, while still being protective of human health and the environment.
• Finalized 67 risk assessments so that high risk contaminated sites could be cleaned up and put back to economic use, after thorough reviews to help ensure the sites will be redeveloped in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment.