home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Shareware Overload Trio 2
/
Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO
/
dir33
/
envrbill.zip
/
ENVRBILL.TXT
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-06-17
|
8KB
|
176 lines
Uploaded/emailed by Steve Hartwell of Construction Network, Toronto, Ontario
voice - (416)447-5728
Internet: <steve.hartwell@canrem.com> or
<construction.network@canrem.com>
EBR Registry Number: SA4E0001
Type: Statement of Environmental Values
Ministry: MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Ministry of Environment and Energy
Statement of Environmental Values
DRAFT
Part I - Background
The Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) was proclaimed in February
1994. The founding principles of the EBR are stated in its Preamble:
The people of Ontario recognize the inherent value of the natural
environment.
The people of Ontario have a right to a healthful environment.
The people of Ontario have as a common goal the protection,
conservation and restoration of the natural environment for the
benefit of present and future generations.
While the government has the primary responsibility for achieving this
goal, the people should have means to ensure that it is achieved in an
effective, timely, open and fair manner.
The EBR has three main purposes:
To protect, conserve and where reasonable, restore the integrity of
the environment;
To provide sustainability of the environment; and
To protect the right to a healthful environment.
These purposes are to be achieved by the means provided in the EBR,
including enhanced public participation in environmentally significant
government decisions and increased governmental accountability for those
decisions. Statements of Environmental Values are a means for government
ministries to record their commitment to the environment and be
accountable for ensuring consideration of the environment in their
decisions.
The EBR requires a Statement of Environmental Values (SEV) from 14
government ministries. The SEV explains:
How the purposes of the EBR will be applied when decisions that might
significantly affect the environment are made in the Ministry; and
How consideration of the purposes of the EBR will be integrated with
other considerations, including social, economic and scientific
considerations, that are part of decision-making in the Ministry.
It is each Minister's responsibility to take every reasonable step to
ensure that the SEV is considered whenever decisions that might
significantly affect the environment are made in the ministry.
Part II - Ministry Mandate
The mandate of the Ministry of Environment and Energy is to protect the
quality of the natural environment so as to safeguard the ecosystem and
human health; coordinate the government's energy supply and demand-
related activities; and foster the efficient use and conservation of
resources.
Part III - Guiding Principles for the Ministry of Environment and Energy
The Ministry of Environment and Energy will strive to achieve the
purposes of the EBR - protection, conservation, restoration,
sustainability and a healthful environment - through the following
guiding principles:
THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH
The Ministry will adopt an ecosystem approach to environmental
protection and resource management. This approach views the ecosystem
as composed of air, land, water, and living organisms, including
humans, and the interactions among them.
When making decisions, the Ministry will consider: the cumulative
effects on the environment; the interdependence of air, land, water
and living organisms; and the interrelations among the environment,
the economy and society.
Environmental Protection
The Ministry's environmental protection strategy will place priority
first on preventing and second on minimizing the creation of
pollutants that can damage the environment. When the creation of
pollutants cannot be avoided, the Ministry's priority will be first to
prevent their release to the environment and second, to minimize their
release.
In the event that significant environmental harm is caused, action
will be taken to ensure that those responsible for the harm remediate
it and to prevent a recurrence.
The Ministry will exercise a precautionary approach in its decision-
making. Especially when there is uncertainty about the risk presented
by particular pollutants or classes of pollutants, the Ministry will
exercise caution in favour of the environment.
Resource Conservation
The Ministry will seek to ensure a safe, secure and affordable supply
of energy in an environmentally sustainable manner. It will also
promote energy and water conservation, as well as encourage the use of
the 3Rs - reduction, reuse and recycling - to divert materials from
disposal.
The Ministry recognizes the value of an open and consultative process
in the implementation of these principles.
Part IV - Integration with Other Considerations
In its decision-making, the Ministry of Environment and Energy will take
into account social and economic impacts.
In making decisions, the Ministry will use science that meets the
demanding standards of the scientific community. It will support
scientific research, the development and application of technologies,
processes and services, and the development of green industries in
Ontario consistent with the guiding principles set out in Part III.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy will promote and implement the
principles of the Statement of Political Relationship and will develop,
with First Nations and Aboriginal communities in Ontario, a government-
to-government forum. Within this context, the Ministry will evaluate the
impact of proposed decisions on First Nations and Aboriginal communities.
Part V - Application
The Ministry will apply the guiding principles listed in Part III and
integrate them with those considerations set out in Part IV, as it
develops Acts, regulations, and policies. The principles and
considerations will also guide the Ministry's internal management
practices.
Instruments such as certificates of approval, permits, licences and
orders are issued under the authority of Acts and made pursuant to
specific Ministry policies and regulations. As the guiding principles in
Part III are incorporated into the development of Acts, regulations and
policies, decisions on instruments will in turn reflect these principles.
In fulfilling its mandate, the Ministry will continue to enforce its
environmental laws, and will consider the use of a wide range of
measures, including regulation, economic incentives and disincentives,
educational programs and programs to encourage voluntary actions. The
Ministry will continue to monitor and assess changes in the environment,
and it will review and report on its progress in implementing the
Statement of Environmental Values.
Members of the public are invited to comment on this Statement of
Environmental Values by writing before August 15, 1994 to:
Robert Shaw
Environmental Bill of Rights Office
14th Floor
2 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 1L5