Don’t silence the Environmental Commissioner!
The endangered Blanding’s Turtle. As of April, 2018, when the Midland Painted Turtle was designated, all of Ontario’s eight turtle species are considered at risk or more under various designations by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)
Two petitions circulating in support of ECO
AWARE News Network
Many groups are speaking out against the Ford government’s decision to eliminate the office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario.
“We are dismayed by this short-sighted decision,” says AWARE Simcoe chair Don Morgan.”The savings – within the context of the government’s total budget – are notional.
“But the effect of silencing the voice that speaks for Ontario’s millions of living beings that together make up the ecosystems of which we humans are a a part – will be devastating, for us and future generations.”
Ontario Nature decries the plan to absorb the Environmental Commission into the office of the Auditor General as an attempt to silence the voices that urge Ontario to better protect our lands, air and waters.
“Dressed as an act of fiscal discipline, it is in fact an unabashed attack against the environment and its defenders,” Ontario Nature says in a statement on its website.
Ontario Nature has posted an online letter and is inviting people to sign on. https://ontarionature.good.do/peopleandenvironment/support/
The umbrella group Green Prosperity points out that for 25 years, Ontario citizens have greatly benefitted from relying on the ECO as an independent, non-partisan officer of the Legislature to hold all governments accountable for their decisions and efforts in protecting Ontarian’s Ontario’s vast and unparalleled environment.
“We therefore call on you not to proceed with the revisions proposed in schedule 15 to Bill 57 which eliminate the stand-alone office of the ECO,” says the statement addressed to Premier Doug Ford from Green Prosperity.
This statement also is posted online and citizens are invited to add their names. http://www.greenprosperity.ca/eco/
Update: Environmental Defence has also pointed out the vital importance of the ECO’s work and urges concerned citizens to sigh the Green Prosperity petition,
Premier Doug Ford,
Without the environmental commissioners watch dog services our environment and every citizens health is at risk. The Walkerton disaster was a prime example of the fatal results of cost cutting essential services.
Please be more responsible and discriminating when acting for the “little guy”
Please review this policy. We are at a critical stage with climate change and need strong leadership in this Province so that there is a sustainable future for generations to come
I totally agree with Dr. Chambers. I find it despicable that the conservatives can not see what is happening to our planet. What kind of a legacy are we leaving future generations? I have been a loyal conservative my whole life but am now investigating other avenues.