NDP MPP Peter Tabuns speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park. (CBC News Image.) New Democratic MPP Peter Tabuns introduced a private member’s bill Wednesday encouraging the Liberals to adopt a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the province. Tabuns, a former executive director of Greenpeace Canada and his party’s Environment and
Continue readingTag: Ministry of Natural Resources
reeves report: Ontario’s endangered species get their day in court
Endangered American Eel. LAWYERS ACTING ON BEHALF of the Ontario government told the courts last month that Ontario’s endangered species legislation is now only concerned with the most dire of species listed under the law. The Woodland Caribou; the American Eel; the Blanding’s Turtle — these and more than 150 other
Continue readingreeves report: Ontario Invasive Species Act gets second chance
A control test site for invasive plant phragmites at Wasaga Beach on Lake Huron. LIBERAL NATURAL RESOURCE MINISTER Bill Mauro reintroduced the Invasive Species Act Wednesday, the first standalone legislation in Canada geared towards stopping the spread of invasives into the province There is currently a patchwork of more than 20 different federal
Continue readingreeves report: NDP propose tough rules for importing Asian carp
On Oct. 1, New Democratic MP Brian Masse from Windsor, Ontario introduced a private member’s bill calling for tougher action and better coordination across Canadian governments in the fight against Asian carp. The bill would make it illegal to import Asian carp — or “invasive carp,” as Masse calls it
Continue readingreeves report: Ottawa completes $400,000 Asian carp science lab
A $400,000 ASIAN CARP science lab was opened by Public Works Minister Diane Finley Monday as part of $17.5 million committed by Ottawa to fight the spread of this aquatic invasive species. Captured grass carp at Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans research lab in Burlington, ON (Andrew Reeves) The new lab
Continue readingreeves report: MNR lacks real-time data on controversial spring bear hunt
Black bear. (Flickr photo by Casey Brown) JUST OVER HALFWAY through the reintroduced six-week spring bear hunt, which runs from May 1 to June 15, the province of Ontario has issued close to 2,300 licenses for black bears. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Natural Resources has no idea how many of those
Continue readingreeves report: Environmental Legislation Killed by the Ontario Election
Environment Minister Jim Bradley and Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti speak with reporters at Queen’s Park. June, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Reeves) SO WE KEEP WAITING. Ontario’s environmental community had reason for optimism when Kathleen Wynne assumed leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in January 2013, knowing the new premier
Continue readingreeves report: Kathleen Wynne’s environmental ups and downs
Feature image: Ontario Rangers youth gather at Queen’s Park in January, 2013 to protest cuts to a Ministry of Natural Resources program many former participants claim changed their lives. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has called an election for June 12, and as the parties gear up their campaign platforms, it’s
Continue readingreeves report: Swimming against the odds
Few of the hundreds of thousands of Chinook salmon introduced into Lake Ontario each year survive to maturity, but the Ministry of Natural Resources is still betting on them to help to improve the health of the Great Lakes. Finance Minister Charles Sousa with MNR staff and representatives from the
Continue readingreeves report: Canada-Ontario Agreement targets aquatic invasives in Great Lakes
Beefing up protections against aquatic invasive species like Asian carp has taken a prominent place in the latest Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) governing how both governments aim to work together on protecting the Great Lakes. Asian carp in U.S. water. “Aquatic invasives have altered Great Lakes ecosystems and caused significant disruptions
Continue readingthe reeves report: Time running out on ELA interim agreement
Researchers working at one of 58 lakes in the Experimental Lakes Area in northern Ontario. Only three days remain to finalize the interim agreement to find a new operator for the Experimental Lakes Area laboratory in northern Ontario, but the province’s resource minister is “optimistic” things will work out. “We are
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario strengthens tools to combat invasives
MNR Minister David Orazietti introduces the Invasives Species Act at Queen’s Park. Groundbreaking legislation a first of its kind in Canada – aims to fill in legislative gaps in combatting invasive species in Ontario. Ontario is attempting to clear away some of the regulatory red tape and overlap that keeps
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario Court backs Gilead Power at Ostrander Point
South Shore of Ostrander Point (Image from CountyLive.com) Seven months after learning a contentious wind project at Ostrander Point had been halted by the Environmental Review Tribunal, an Ontario divisional court overturned that decision Thursday, paving the way for development to begin later this year. In July 2013, the Tribunal
Continue readingthe reeves report: Federal court knocks Ottawa for failing to protect endangered species — Ontario could be next
Woodland caribou listed in Canada as a species-at-risk. (Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller is warning Queen’s Park could face sharp reprimands by the courts for its failure to uphold wildlife protections under the Endangered Species Act. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a federal court confirmed last week the Government of
Continue readingthe reeves report: Green neighbours collide over wind power project
It’s dispiriting when newly rival factions of the environmental movement clash over what has become a touchy subject in green circles. Worse when disagreements end up in the justice system. Yet that’s exactly what played out this week in a Toronto appeals court. In an issue the media have dubbed
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario Government “Failed Miserably” to Protect Endangered Species
Woodland Caribou (Flickr image from Jim Winstead) The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has shown a “shocking disregard” for its legal obligation to consult with the public on numerous changes to how species at risk and their habitat are managed in the province, Ontario’s environmental commissioner Gord Miller warned recently.
Continue readingthe reeves report: Asian carp capable of breeding in Great Lakes: USGS scientists
Captured grass carp at Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans research lab in Burlington, ON (Andrew Reeves) Anyone doubting whether Asian carp could successfully breed in the Great Lakes watershed got their answer Monday as researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey and Bowling Green State University in Ohio announced four grass
Continue readingthe reeves report: Grass carp found in Grand River sterile
It could have been worse. When the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced on May 3 that a Grass carp caught in the Grand River near Lake Erie was sterile, biologists and invasive species experts on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border could breathe a sigh of relief. But not
Continue readingthe reeves report: Local Knowledge Key in Land Restoration Program
Building off the idea that few comprehend the environmental challenges occurring in their backyards better than those who witness them daily, the Ontario government has re-launched yet another program to solicit local engagement in improving the province’s natural spaces. The Land Stewardship and Habitat Restoration Program– operating under the awkward acronym
Continue readingthe reeves report: Algonquin Park: A Waste Diversion Success Story
Algonquin Park at sunrise. Flickr image by Karin Lewis. The crown jewel of Ontario’s provincial park system is being recognized for hitting a crucial milestone not often associated with our parks system: removing garbage. With approximately one million visitors flocking to Ontario’s largest and most popular park destination, Algonquin Park
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