On your way to work, you grab your umbrella as the forecast is calling for rain. But today’s rain will be different and unfortunately, that umbrella is going to be of little help. A torrential downpour of 100 mm causes flash flooding, closing roads and bridges, filling underpasses and submerging cars, knocking out power for 16,000 people, and flooding people’s homes and places of work.
During the storm, you go down to the parking garage to check on your car and become stuck in an elevator as it quickly fills with water. You desperately scream for help and cling to life, as the police swim down to rescue you, which they achieve with seconds to spare.
This sounds like a scene of a movie, right? Wrong. This happened on Aug. 7, 2018 in Toronto.
Conservation authorities are the first line of defence in preventing and reducing the impacts of flooding, which just so happens to be the leading cause of public emergency in Ontario. The most practical approach to avoiding the impacts of flooding is prevention, to which conservation authorities play a critical role in regulating land use to minimize flood risk within a watershed.
Practically speaking, this means that conservation authorities look at the upstream, ecosystem, and downstream impacts that proposed development will have on groundwater, stormwater runoff, and erosion, for streams and rivers that ultimately drain into other bodies of water. Upon the completion of their science-based analysis, conservation authorities provide technical advice on whether the concepts should be allowed to proceed.
Last month, the province introduced a budget bill. This proposed bill includes language that would allow a cabinet minister to override conservation authorities’ science-based watershed approach to planning and permitting to one based solely on politics.
This essentially gives control over to political lobbyists which, as many people fear, represents the financial interests of a few, rather than the greater good of our province. Conservation authorities believe that development, if well planned, can happen safely while maintaining nature’s beauty and diversity. This means that the technical agencies support responsible development in our watersheds, although this is often wrongly confused with being antidevelopment.
The impacts of short-sighted government intervention, which override science for the benefit of kick-starting the economy, will have vast financial and environmental consequents for generations to come. The messaging is clear — Ontario is open for business, no matter the cost.
Conservation authorities are apolitical organizations, created by bipartisan legislation, to further the conservation, restoration, development, and management of natural resources in our watersheds. The protection of the environment is a non-partisan issue as watershed, precipitation, and gravity do not recognize geographical boundaries or political parties.
We should all be able to agree that making changes to environmental legislation through an unrelated budget bill, for the sole purpose of taking advantage of a loophole that allows the province to avoid appropriate consultation, understanding that this legislation will have irreversible impacts for future generations, is unacceptable political decorum.
The government’s actions are unnecessarily pitting development against the rest of the province. In my experiences, I have seen how passionate and solution-orientated many developers are in their desires to build sustainable and vibrant communities, in accordance with science. I expected that the province would use this opportunity to develop legislation that fostered this relationship, but instead are attempting to further the divide, voiding the efforts many conservation authorities and developers have done to work collectively for the greater good.
My history with the Conservative party is long, inspired by party leader Jean Charest and the leadership of Bill Davis and Brian Mulroney, for their dedication balancing environmental stewardship with fiscal responsibility. This seemingly new direction of the Conservative government and party is saddening, as it no longer aligns with my personal values and my professional integrity as chair of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and a Peel Regional Councillor for Caledon.
I appeal to everyone reading this article to contact the premier and your local MPP immediately to ask them to remove Schedule 6 from Bill 229 in advance of this week’s final vote. This is no time to sit on the sidelines.
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Jennifer Innis is chair of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s board of directors.
FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:
Born: Oct. 28, 1956.
Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.
Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.
Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.
Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.
Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.
Born: March 1, 1954.
Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.
Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.
Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.
Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.
Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.
Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – The pressing issues of climate change and food security join more familiar ones like violent extremism and espionage on a new list of Canada’s intelligence priorities.
The federal government says publishing the list of priorities for the first time is an important step toward greater transparency.
The government revises the priorities every two years, based on recommendations from the national security adviser and the intelligence community.
Once the priorities are reviewed and approved by the federal cabinet, key ministers issue directives to federal agencies that produce intelligence.
Among the priorities are the security of global health, food, water and biodiversity, as well as the issues of climate change and global sustainability.
The new list also includes foreign interference and malign influence, cyberthreats, infrastructure security, Arctic sovereignty, border integrity and transnational organized crime.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
