Uploaded/emailed by Steve Hartwell of Construction Network, Toronto, Ontario voice - (416)447-5728 Internet: or 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