Canada-U.S. Environmental Coalition Voices Concern Over Ontario Plan To Water Down Terms For Hauling Toxic Wastes On Great Lakes

(Niagara At Large is posting the following ‘Action Alert’ and appeal to citizens to voice their concern for our readers’ information. This post has been circulated by Great Lakes United, a Canada-U.S. environmental groups, angler and recreational groups, Native communities and other parties around the Great Lakes basin.)

ACTION ALERT! U.S. and Canadian voices must be heard on hazardous waste licensing near the Great Lakes

Our Great Lakes from space. Image courtesy of Kevin McMahon, producer of the documentary film 'Waterlife'

Voice Your Concern regarding the Ontario Ministry of Environment’s Proposal to Exempt Transportation of Hazardous Waste from Licensing Requirements
 
The Ontario Ministry of Environment is proposing to exempt waste haulers transporting hazardous waste from the requirement to obtain a license before commencing their operation. This exemption will also apply to transboundary waste haulers.
 
The Ministry’s proposal would instead subject waste haulers to a regulation which will set out the requirements for transporting hazardous waste. This means that there will be no up-front detailed review by Ministry staff to determine whether waste haulers are properly equipped and qualified to handle the transportation of hazardous waste before they are allowed to operate in Ontario. 

This issue directly affects the Great Lakes. 

1. This means an increased probability of spills into the rivers at the major crossing points by bridge or on ferries into the United States (the St. Mary’s River, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River, the Niagara River, the St. Lawrence River). 
    
2. It also means that trucks based in Ontario would be carrying hazardous wastes on roads in the United States without having strong pre-clearance by Ontario’s authorities.
    
3. It is very important for U.S. groups to send letters because it affects the Great Lakes and also affects trucks travelling on U.S. roads.  

Great Lakes United has submitted a letter expressing our concerns to Minister Bradley. The text of the letter can be viewed here. Please feel free to borrow from it or adapt it to suit your organizations’ views. 

For more information please contact:
Ramani Nadarajah, Counsel, Canadian Environmental Law Association, (416) 960-2284 ext. 217 ramani@cela.ca or Dr. Elaine McDonald, Senior Scientist, Ecojustice, (416) 368-7533 emacdonald@ecojustice.ca

_____________________________________________________________
 
We ask that you please take a moment to write to Minister Jim Bradley expressing your concerns about the proposal. Letters may be sent to:
 
The Honourable Jim Bradley
Minister of the Environment
77 Wellesley Street West
11th Floor, Ferguson Block
Toronto ON
M7A 2T5
Email: minister.moe@ontario.ca
Telephone: (416) 314-6790
Fax: (416) 314-7337
 
 
A sample letter is provided below:
 
[insert date]
Dear Minister Bradley:
 
Re: Proposal to De-regulate the Transportation of Hazardous Waste
 
We are writing to you to express our serious concerns with the Ministry of Environment’s proposal to exempt waste haulers transporting hazardous waste from the requirement to obtain a license in the form of an Environmental Compliance Approval. This means that waste haulers will no longer have their operations subject to a rigorous up-front review by Ministry staff before they commence operations in Ontario.
 
Hazardous waste, by its very definition, poses substantial risk to the environment and human health and safety. Many of the substances and materials constituting the hazardous waste stream are classified as “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and some are listed as human carcinogens by the International Cancer Research Institute.
 
Furthermore, the handling of hazardous waste in Ontario has been the subject of a significant number of prosecutions, involving serious violations resulting in substantial harm to the environment and human health and safety.
 
We believe the Ministry’s proposal will places Ontario’s environment and human health and safety at significantly greater risk. We strongly urge the Ministry not to proceed with this proposal. We, therefore, request that the transportation of hazardous waste be subject to strict controls and oversight by the Ontario government. 
 
 
Yours truly,
 
[include your name here]

(Along with any message of concern you may with to send to Ontario Environment Minister and St. Catharines, Ontario MPP Jim Bradley, Niagara At Large also welcomes your views on the contents of this post in the comment area below. Please remember that we only post views by individuals willing to share their first and last names.)