News from the Office of the Ontario Environmental Commissioner
Queen’s Park, November 3, 2015 – Ontario’s acting Environmental Commissioner, Ellen Schwartzel, says the provincial government is recovering only a tiny fraction of its management costs for the water supplied to many industries.
Ontario’s acting Environmental Commissioner Ellen Schwartzel
In her Annual Report, “Small Things Matter,” released today, Schwartzel noted there’s been no progress by the government on recovering the full cost of its water programs from users. “I am frustrated the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has yet to act on recommendations of both the Environmental Commissioner and the Drummond Commission,” says Schwartzel.
Currently, the government recovers only 1.2% of the $16.2 million it spends on water quantity management programs.
“Not only do most industries get a total free ride,” says Schwartzel, “but the few industries that do pay are charged only $3.71 for every million litres of water they take. This small charge works out to less than $10 for enough water to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.”
The acting Commissioner also says the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change should be more open and transparent when issuing water-taking permits. “Right now, only about a quarter of all water-taking permits are posted for public comment on the province’s Environmental Registry. Permits for municipal or agricultural uses, or ones that last for less than a year, are never shared with the public, and many of these are for high-risk uses. And even when permits are posted for public comment, they don’t always have the necessary information.”
Schwartzel says there is good reason for more public scrutiny of water takings in Ontario: there are indications that increasing water demand from a growing population is reducing the baseline water flows for some streams and rivers.
“Ecosystems in some parts of the Grand River watershed are periodically stressed by low water levels” says the acting Environmental Commissioner, “and the base flow of the East Holland River near Lake Simcoe has been declining for decades. We can no longer take our province’s water supplies for granted.”
The Environmental Commissioner’s review of Ontario’s water-taking program can be found in Parts 3.3 and 3.4 of the report “Small Things Matter,” which can be downloaded at eco.on.ca.
About Us
The Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 (EBR) states that there shall be an Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO or “Commissioner”), an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly who is responsible for reviewing and reporting on the government’s compliance with the EBR.
The ECO, often referred to as Ontario’s “environmental watchdog,” reports to the Legislative Assembly—not to a political party or to a ministry. The ECO is appointed for a five-year term and may be reappointed for additional terms.
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No wonder Nestles wants to get into the water business in Ontario. Can homeowners become industries to take advantage of the lower water costs? Do industries avoid the sewage charges as well?
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Bill
You have to concede the Governments of Ontario are definitely Corporate owned lock stock and water barrel….
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As if the staggering profit for water sold in stores was not enough, greedy corporations who supply bottled water also want to be on Corporate Welfare. Even the poorest in our community pay for water at the going rate, or more if they rely on bottled water since some don’t have tapes from which to draw. Yet, because they pay big bucks to our various parties, corporations in the water business get a cost break you and I don’t enjoy. Their profits are often staggering. Their execs get huge bucks, too. We get to carry the load for them. Of course they should pay the going rate as a cost of doing business. We do!!
I’m tired of corporate welfare whether it’s for car companies, aircraft manufacturers, or companies that pump our water supply out of the ground and push our costs up at the same time. When it’s all gone, they will leave. We will be left with empty wells on our farms and rural lands. They’ll then go and take someone else’s water. The Bush family, for example, have land that sits on top of one of the world’s larges aquifers. God knows they need the subsidies! How will they get by?
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