greenbelt council

The new chair of Ontario’s Greenbelt Council, former environment minister Norm Sterling, has come under fire for voting against the creation of the protected area. Now, the Ontario Liberals are calling more of Sterling’s record into question, calling him “Ontario’s worst environment minister.”

Norm Sterling ⁠— who oversaw cuts to the environment ministry’s budget that were later found to have contributed to what happened to the Walkerton E. coli outbreak ⁠— was a Progressive Conservative environment minister under the Mike Harris government.

Amid backlash over a controversial bill that gutted conservation authorities’ powers, the Ontario government is appointing a working group to advise it on how the changes should roll out. The panel will be led by a conservation official, an apparent olive branch to the watershed management agencies.

Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said Monday the province would forge ahead with the legislation, which has sparked backlash from fellow Conservatives. He also announced new funding to restore wetlands, which critics said wouldn’t make up for the contentious changes.

David Crombie, a former Progressive Conservative MP and Toronto mayor, resigned as chair of the advisory board Saturday, saying the Ford government's changes to limit the powers of conservation authorities amount to "high-level bombing." Six more members followed suit and stepped down Sunday morning.

The Ford government has fast-tracked a development project in Pickering, Ont., that would destroy a sensitive wetland. “This has been my life's work, environmental protection," said Linda Pim, who resigned Wednesday. "I just decided I had to take a stand."

Earlier this month, the Ford government announced its preferred route for a new Greater Toronto Area highway that would cut through protected green space, a revival of a proposal that was killed by a previous government. “This highway was cancelled previously for good reasons,” says Keith Brooks from Environmental Defence.