Steve Clark

Last spring, Ontario’s auditor general warned the government that changes to environmental assessments in Bill 197 were “not compliant” with the law. Now, First Nations and environmental groups are asking a judge to review the decision.

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.

The developers behind the Pickering, Ont., project received a conditional permit Friday night. But in the meantime, local officials called for it to be paused and the Ontario government signalled it would be willing to backtrack.

Three of the new ministerial zoning orders involve environmental concerns, an Observer analysis shows. “We will never stop issuing MZOs for the people of Ontario,” Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday.

The developers behind the controversial Durham Live project donated nearly $5,000 to the Progressive Conservatives days before the government made two moves to enable a warehouse to go on top of a protected wetland. Meanwhile, environmental groups asked a court Monday to block the developers from receiving a permit.

Under fire during question period Tuesday, the Ford government didn’t address criticism about the environmental impact of MZOs, the subject of a Canada's National Observer investigation released last week. But PC MPP Parm Gill said the government “will not apologize.” Later, the government announced renewed funding for the Greenbelt Foundation, which critics said was a distraction.

The announcement comes the day after an investigation by Canada’s National Observer showed the Ford government has been using a controversial special zoning order to give the green light to developments in environmentally sensitive areas. Several allowed projects in close proximity to the Greenbelt, which experts say can degrade the protected land.

Developers linked to projects fast-tracked by the Ford government poured donations into the the Progressive Conservatives and Ontario Proud, a third-party group that supported the Tories in the 2018 provincial election.

The Ford government has used ministerial zoning orders, or MZOs, to override environmental concerns in 14 cases, an analysis by Canada’s National Observer shows. In many cases, developers who benefitted donated thousands to the PCs and Ontario Proud.

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 Ontario premier said the province’s environmental assessment process is too slow, and speeding it up will drive economic recovery after COVID-19. Critics say the legislation would harm the environment.

Critics say that a bill expected to lead to a mass wave of evictions in Ontario was made even more difficult for tenants to navigate this week.

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.