News from the Ontario Government
A Brief Note from Niagara At Large – It is long past time a senior level of government is taking this step. For the sake of our future, read this post and get involved!
February, 2015 – Ontario has released a climate change discussion paper and invites citizens, businesses and communities to share ideas about how to successfully fight climate change while fostering economic growth and keeping our businesses competitive.
Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change – “Climate change is already costing Ontarians by threatening our communities, businesses and way of life. While Ontario is showing leadership in fighting climate change, we know we need to do more and we need to act fast. Over the next few months, we will be asking citizens about their thoughts on how to fight climate change, foster economic growth and help secure a better future for this province for generations to come.”
The government will engage aboriginal communities and hold province wide consultations with citizens, community organizations, industry stakeholders, municipal representatives and businesses, and will publically post the discussion paper for comment on the Environmental Registry for 45 days. The discussion paper:
- Identifies the climate change challenge, the risks and threats it poses to Ontario’s environment, economy and way of life.
- Suggests actions that encourage individuals, businesses, government and communities to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Asks important questions to help inform a comprehensive climate change strategy and action plan, to be released later this year.
Engaging the public in a conversation about climate change builds on Ontario’s recent achievements including closing coal plants, curbing the use of cosmetic pesticides and protecting 1.8 million acres of land. These initiatives have resulted in fewer smog days and cleaner water.
Fighting climate change and supporting Ontario’s clean technology sector are part of the government’s economic plan for Ontario. The four part plan is building Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, building new public infrastructure like roads and transit, creating a dynamic, supportive environment where business thrives, and building a secure savings plan so everyone can afford to retire.
QUICK FACTS
- Information about public sessions, including dates, cities and towns and venues, is available online at www.ontario.ca/climatechange.
- The site also has a quick guide to the discussion paper and several options to provide ideas and comments.
- Ontario has the fastest growing clean-tech sector in Canada, with 2,700 clean-tech firms employing 65,000 people and generating annual revenues of more than $8 billion.
- Ontario’s actions to close coal fired electricity plants, curb the use of cosmetic pesticides and protect 1.8 million acres of land have resulted in fewer smog days and cleaner water.
- Ending coal-fired power is the single largest greenhouse gas reduction initiative in North America, equivalent to taking seven million cars off the road.
Ontario will host a Climate Summit of the Americas from July 7-9, 2015, to advance collaborative action on climate change ahead of the Conference of the Parties in Paris in December.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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(Niagara At Large invites your comments on this post below just so long as you share your real name with your comment. A reminder that for accountability and transparency purposes, NAL only posts comments by individuals who share their real first and last name.)
Niagara At Large 
In order to reduce GHGs we in Ontario should consider adding Hydrogen producing capacity to our Nuclear facilities . The production of this pollution free gas needs electricity and steam for the cost effective generation . Instead of having other jurisdictions take our excess electrical production at a loss Why not use it to produce this Gas . It could be stored and used on days of high heat and pollution and burned in our Co-Gens to generate our electricity needed for air conditioning . It would also provide a form of flexibility in our base lode capacity that we do not have now …
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John:
1. Check out http://www.Gridwatch.ca to see how Ontario generates electricity at any one moment; where & why we Import and Export. Then ask why:
– someone designed Nuclear plants that can’t be turned down when not needed?
– that can’t find a safe way to Store the radioactive waste?
– that doesn’t buy more Liability Insurance than will be paid for the Lac Megantic railway crash ($500M)?
– that is always over-budget when being refurbished?
2. After Fukushima happened to the very careful Japanese nation, a question arose: have you ever heard of an emergency evacuation plan for Southern Ontario if the worst case scenario ever happened? If the unexpected can happen to Japan ….
Why aren’t we planning to retire Nuclear as is Germany?
3. A Mississauga company Hydrogenics, has helped Germany use windpower to generate hydrogen which is injected 5% into their natural gas system to help heat their homes.
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