Jeff yurek

Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk told National Observer the government was required by law to consult the public on major environmental changes in the bill before passing it.

Environmental assessments are often a major factor in deciding which projects get approved. Critics say the Ontario premier’s planned changes to that system, done through a COVID-19 economic recovery bill, could undermine environmental oversight and maybe even slow down the system.

The bill would give the province two years to write an action plan to equip Ontario’s health-care system to handle the fallout of the climate crisis. It would also create an advisory board of scientists to assist the government.

At the beginning of 2020, voters were increasingly turning away from the Ontario government’s lack of climate action. But now, COVID-19 has changed everything. Could Doug Ford use a new burst of political goodwill to deliver a robust climate plan?

The Ontario government wants to make it easier to build quarries in endangered species habitat. Combined with plans to exempt logging companies from endangered species rules, the effect could be devastating, critics say.

For several months, the Doug Ford government suspended environmental protections and transparency requirements, citing COVID-19. On Thursday, the premier committed to releasing a full accounting of environmental changes made during that period.

The Doug Ford government suspended environmental protections in April, saying they could hinder its response to COVID-19. “If people can congregate on patios while abiding by physical-distance guidelines, surely they can be consulted on environmental measures that affect their community,” Ontario Green party Leader Mike Schreiner said.

"I’m concerned that the government could be using the COVID crisis to undermine environmental protections," Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said in question period Wednesday. In response, Environment Minister Jeff Yurek accused Schreiner of "playing politics" and not supporting businesses.

Environment Minister Jeff Yurek lacked the legal authority to cancel the Nation Rise wind farm and either ignored or misunderstood key evidence, the Ontario Superior Court ruled. “This decision does not meet the requirements of transparency, justification and intelligibility," the decision said.

“At this point I will give the benefit of the doubt to the government… but we will be watching very closely,” said Ontario NDP environment critic Ian Arthur.

Ontario’s opposition NDP challenged the top bureaucrats behind the Doug Ford government’s threadbare climate plan, but the civil servants — much like the political masters they serve — ducked and weaved and pointed mostly to policy actions yet to take effect when asked about Ford’s climate achievements.

“Mr. Ford, the ball is in your court. If you believe this decision is not a waste of public money, and you did not use bogus evidence to justify it, let the auditor general prove it,” Horwath said.

Earlier this month, the Ontario government cancelled the half-built Nation Rise Wind Farm, citing concerns about local bats. The company behind the project says that claim isn’t rooted in science.

National Observer has learned that the Ford government has ordered the organizations that protect Ontario's watershed to shut down programs that don't relate to their "core mandate," without consultation or notice about what this mandate is.