Subject: Budget Cuts to Environment in Canada
GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
506 Victoria Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
Ph. (514) 369-0230, Fax (514) 369-3282, email: cibe@web.net
JULY 23, 1997
____________________________________________________________________________=
____
ONTARIO ENVIRONMENT BUDGET CUT 44% =20
The Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment analyzed the
detailed "budget estimates" of the Ontario Ministry of Environment and
Energy (MOEE) for 1995-95 and for 1997-98. The institute found that the
operating budget of the environment ministry was cut from $365.4 million in
1994-95 to $211.0 million in 1997-98. That is a loss of $154.4 million, or
44 per cent, from Ontario environmental protection budget.
At face value, the MOEE budget showed only a drop of 4.3 per cent from
$365.4 million in 1994- 95 to $349.8 million in 1997-98. However, the
1997-98 contains a paper transfer of capital funds of $138.8 million from
the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA). This money was not shown on the MOEE
1994-95 books. Called "Municipal Assistance Program" (MAP), the funds are
provided annually for municipal water and sewer system upgrades. The
transfer masked a real cut of $194.4 million to MOEE operating budgets and
other MOEE capital budgets for technology development, eco-efficiency, and
recycling. The cuts are 60 per cent more than the across-the-board
government cuts averaging 25 per cent that all Ontario ministries,
including MOEE, committed to, in order to meet deficit reduction targets.
Let's review the major cuts within the environment ministry's programs:
Funding for the development of environmental programs and standards was
cut 99 per cent from $51 million to $500,000. The province has reduced its
ability to design standards and carry out voluntary environment programs.
o Environmental laboratory services funding was cut 40.3 per cent from $29.5
million to $17.6 million
o Compliance and enforcement branch budget was reduced 30 per cent, or $14.7
million from the $49.1 million in 1994-95 to $34.4 million this
year.
o Capital funding for environmental technologies and processes including new
technologies, recycling and energy conservation equipment, was
virtually eliminated, being dropped 99% from $72.2 million in
1994-95 to $500,000 this year.
o
Funding for "Beaches Restoration" was cut 97 per cent from $12 million in
1995-6 to $400,000 in 1997-98.=20
o Environmental Science and Technology operational funding was cut 75.8 per
cent from $19.4 million to $4.7m.
Total Ministry staff positions were cut 880 (36%) from 2,430 in 1995 to
1,550 in 1997. Abatement officers in the regions that used to visit the
plants on a regular basis are reduced. The ones that remain conduct their
investigations on sporadic occasions. This makes it tough for regional
offices to identify and correct problems before they create a significant
economic and environmental cost.
The severe cuts to the Ontario government's environmental budget will have a
profound impact on the province's ability to protect its environment over
the next decade. It gives rise to a number of questions that need to be
addressed. First, are the excessive cuts a part of the Provincial
Government's stated policy of reducing environmental impediments to business
in Ontario? If that is the case, the give-away could backfire financially
for the province as a result of rising costs to the government for pollution
remediation (e.g, Hamilton plastics fire and Collingwood drinking water
contamination), and rising costs of medical care. =20
Without adequate resources for monitoring and abatement will the people know
the full extent of the impact on environmental health within their
communities related to drinking water, the air they breathe and the soil
from which they take food? Will the cuts affect Ontario's, and Canada's,
competitive advantage in eco-efficiency technology and services development?
Can Ontario handle the downloading of federal environmental responsibilities
from Environment Canada? Call the Hon. Norm Sterling, Minister of the
Environment and Energy, Ontario and request a copy of the 1997-98
"Estimates":MOEE, 12th Floor, 135 St. Clair Ave., W., Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, (416) 323-4359.
****************************************************************************=
***
CHART OF ONTARIO ENVIRONMENT CUTS TWO YEARS 1994-95 TO
1997-98
BUDGET ITEM 1994-95 1997-98 $'s Reduced
Reduced %%%
(millions) (millions) (millions)
Total MOEE Budget 365.4m 211.8m $154.4m 44.0%
Total Operating 290.2 165.5 124.7 43.0%
Utility Planning (OCWA transfer) -- 178.8 178.8 +
increased
Envir & Energy Services (capital) 72.7 0.5 72.2 =
99.3%
Program & Standards Dev (oper) 53.0 16.2 36.8 69.4%
Env Science % Tech (operating) 19.4 4.7 14.7 75.8%
Lab Services (operating) 29.5 17.6 11.9 40.3
Energy Devel. & Mgmt (operating) 12.8 3.7 8.4 69.4
Programs & Standards Dev (cap) 51.8 0.5 51.3 99.0%
Energy Devel & Mgmt (capital) 20.9 --- 20.9 100.0%
Compliance & Enforcement (ops) 49.1 34.4 14.7 30.0%
Environmental Compensation Corp. 379,200 -- 379,200 100.0%
Policy Devel & Gov Relations 11.3 6.5 4.8 42.5%
Program Admin.(operating) 16.3 3.5 12.8 78.5%
Staff Cuts (positions) 2,430 1,550 880 36.2%
=09
****************************************************************************
*****
CANADA'S NATIONAL SECTOR TEAM ON ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS
The environment industry in Canada has a "National Sector Team" established
with the federal
government to support business development within the sector and to promote
the exports of
environmental goods and services. Environment is one of 21 national sector
teams created in=20
in the fall of 1995, under the joint sponsorship of the Department of
Foreign Affairs and
International Trade and Industry Canada. The primary focus of NSTs is the
development and
implementation of the Canadian International Business Strategy (CIBS) for
their sector.
The June 17 Environment Industry NST video conference, involving government
and industry
participants from across the country, focused on development of the 1998/99
Canadian
International Business Strategy (CIBS). Companies in each region were
informally surveyed to
get their input. Highlights of responses are: the NST is taking the right
approach with the CIBS;
Team Canada works - we need to build on it; there was general consensus on
the markets targeted
by the CIBS; there is a need for timely market intelligence on specific
project opportunities (i.e.
Enviro- News); there should be more private sector involvement in benefits
from MOUs; and the
long lead time and high cost of international market development presents
significant barriers for
most Canadian environmental companies, hence, some tax or other incentive to
encourage export
business development is required. The sub-sectors most often identified for
future strategic
direction/focus were: site remediation; water/wastewater; waste management;
environmental
assessment; geomatics; and clean air technologies. For more info., call
Sherrill Owen, Industry
Canada at 613- 954-2938.
***********************************************************
MEMBERS OF CANADA'S ENVIRONMENT NATIONAL SECTOR TEAM=20
Listed below are the members of the National Sector Team for environment
business. A
list of the team (including address and phone numbers), plus the team's
mandate can be
downloaded from the Strategis website at: =20
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_indps/nst/engdoc/homepage.html.=20l
The members are:
FEDERAL (30)
Lucien Bradet, NST Leader, Industry Canada, tel: (613) 954-3080
Sherrill Owen, NST Secretary, Industry Canada
John Beveridge, Industry Canada
Burke Darling, Industry Canada
Eric Anderson, International Trade Centre, Industry Canada
Tom Babcock, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Jane Bain, New Ventures, CANMET, Natural Resources Canada
Marie-France B=E9rard, Chef, d=E9veloppement technologique, Environnement=
Canada
Mark Bowman, Manager, Financing Services, Export Development Corporation=
(EDC)
John Brown, Environmental Analyst, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Christian Coderre, Federal Office of regional Development - Qu=E9bec
Ronald Cyr, Federal Office of regional Development - Qu=E9bec
Maryann Everett, International Trade Centre - Atlantic Region, Industry=
Canada
Bruno Goulet, Dir. Int'l. Business, Intl Trade Centre, Quebec
Kathryn Hewlett-Jobes, Director, Trade Opportunities Division, DFAIT
Andrew Kenyon, Policy Analyst, CIDA
Simone Lauzi=E8re, Industry Canada - Quebec
P.K.Lueng, Ass't. Director General, Environnement Canada
Ron McLeod, Senior Trade Commissioner (Alberta), Industry Canada
Gerald Milot, Trade Commissioner (Ontario), Industry Canada
Ed Norrena, Director General, Environment Canada Tel: (819) 953-3090
Robert Pedersen, Senior Trade (B.C.), International Trade Centre, Industry
Canada
Bernard Postma, Development & Operations,(Atlantic Region), Industry Canada
Gilles Potvin, Environment Trade, DFAIT, Tel: (613) 996-1431
Peter W. Stevens, Environment Support, Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC)
Anne Thompson, Industry Sector Officer, Atlantic Canada, Industry Canada
Keith Warren, Trade Commissioner, International Trade, Centre, Industry=
Canada
David Woynorowski, Western Economic Diversification, Industry Canada
Lori Young, International and Intergovernmental Affairs, Environment Canada
Derek Yue, Industry Services Officer (Ontario), Industry Canada, Tel: (416)
973-5159
PROVINCIAL MEMBERS (14)=20
Gerry Adamson, Director, Dept of Economic Development, Saskatchewan
Richard Aub=E9, Directeur des Industries de l'environnement, Minist=E8re de
l'Industry, du commerce, =20
et de la science et technologie, Quebec
C=E9cile Bran=E7on, Export Advisor, minist=E8re de l'Industrie, du Commerce,=
de la
Science et de la Technologie (MICST, Quebec
Bill Carter, Dept of Industry, Trade & Technology, Newfoundland
Shelley Clark, Manager of Trade Promotions, PEI
Allan Collier, Industries Branch, Ministry of Employment and Investment, =
B.C.
John Fudge, Dept of Economic Development & Tourism, New Brunswick=20
Bryan Hughes, BC Trade and Investment Office, B.C.
Jerry Keller, Dept of Economic Development & Tourism, Alberta
Debra Mckeown, Green Industries Office, MOEE, Ontario
Don Robertson, Trade Development, Economic Renewal Agency, Nova Scotia
Julianne Schaible, Dept. of Industry, Trade & Tourism, Manitoba
Shirley Townsend, International Trade Corporation, Ontario
Orest Warchola, Economic Development and Tourism, Alberta
ASSOCIATIONS (17)=20
John H. Archibald, Canada Asean Centre
Eric Bouchard, Association qu=E9b=E9cois des teniques de l'environment
Association des entpreneurs de services en environment due Qu=E9b=
ec
Carmen Adam , Commissaire - Environnement Service de=20
d=E9veloppement =E9conomique, Quebec
Serge Cabana, Pr=E9sident, Grappe de d=E9veloppement des
Industries de l'environnement inc., Quebec
Monique Grabaski, Manitoba Environmental Industry Association (MEIA)
Douglas Langley, Int'l Association of Environmental Testing Laboratories=
(IAETL)
Timothy Page, Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada
Ron Portelli, President, Canadian Environmental Industries Association=
(CEIA)
Tim Schultz, Environmental Services Association of Alberta (ESSA)
Robert K. (Bob) Swartman, President, Canadian Solar Industries Association
Sherri Watson, Canadian Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA)
John D. Wiebe, President, GLOBE Foundation
Ed Kennedy, President, Geomatics Industry Association of Canada
Manon Laporte, Pr=E9sidente, Enviro-Acc=E8s, Quebec
Bill Lightowlers, President, CEIA -BC and CETAC West
Jeff Passmore, Vice President, Indep. Power Producers Society of Ontario=
(IPPSO)
Gerry Rich, President of CEIA Ontario
************************************************************
CANADA'S ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PUBLICATIONS ON CD-ROM
GET YOURS NOW
Your company does environmental assessments and environmental audits. It
needs quick access
to EA quality information. It can obtain a CD ROM with a search engine from
the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency. It has a complete collection of
publications since 1974. .=20
The Agency will add new publications each year as they are produced. Over
500 documents,
both published and unpublished are on the disk, including: publications of
the Agency's
forerunner, the Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office (FEARO). It
also has research
and development studies conducted for the Canadian Environmental Assessment
Research
Council (CEARC) on such topics as social impact assessment, mitigation
measures and
compensation issues, traditional ecological knowledge, cumulative
environmental effects and
sustainable development and environmental assessment; the popular 250-page
Responsible
Authority's Guide to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act , the
Citizen's Guide to the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Process, the Environmental Assessment of
Policy and
Programs; reports of the International Study of the Effectiveness of
Environmental Assessment
published in collaboration with the International Association for Impact
Assessment (IAIA). Cost:
$65.00 (Canadian). Contact: Suzanne Latour, CEAA, Tel. (819) 953-5537, Fax
(819) 953-2891;
E-Mail: slatour@gsro.carleton.ca
************************************************
MARINE "EARTH SUMMIT" PLANNED IN NEWFOUNDLAND
Canada will host a world oceans policy conference Sept. 1 to 6, 1997 in
Newfoundland. At the
event, called an Earth Summit on the oceans, Canada will launch the 'Ocean
Charter', a statement
of principal on ocean management which all nations will be urged to sign by
the end of 1998, the
International Year of the Ocean. While the U.N. Convention on the Law of
the Sea has been
ratified and there has been agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks, organizers
say there is still debate on the effectiveness of international law as a
mechanism to enforce
sustainable development of marine resources. Guest speakers include UNESCO
Director General
Federico Mayor and James Baker, Chief Administrator of the U.S. National
Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. Some 1,000 international delegates are expected
at the core
conference in St. John's and 2,000 delegates at 11 other related conferences
worldwide between
Aug. 27 and Sept. 19. See: <http://www.cabot500.nf.ca/summitps/nst/engdoc/homepage.html.=20l> Contact: Jan
Woodford, Tel:
+1-709-729-4323; fax: +1-709-579-2067; email: jwoodfor@cabot500.gov.nf.ca.
****************************************************
REPORT ON DEPOSITION OF AIR POLLUTANTS TO THE GREAT WATERS=20
=20
The United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air and
Radiation has released its'
second report to Congress regarding the deposition of air pollutants to the
great waters, fulfilling
the requirements in Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112(m)(5). The water bodies
collectively
referred to as the "great waters" in this report are the Great Lakes, Lake
Champlain, Chesapeake
Bay, and specific coastal waters (i.e., defined in the statute as coastal
waters designated through
the National Estuary Program and the National Estuarine Research Reserve
System). The First
Report to Congress on atmospheric deposition to the Great Waters was
published in May 1994.=20
The main objective of this report is to present information about
atmospheric deposition of
pollutants to the Great Waters based on the scientific data available since
publication of the First
Report to Congress. The report focuses on research and activities in
specific water bodies to
further understand and promote reductions of overall contaminant loadings to
the Great Waters. In
addition, this report includes a brief discussion of EPA's draft
determination of the adequacy of
CAA section 112 to protect the Great Waters from deposition of hazardous air
pollutant emissions
from domestic stationary sources. Obtain the report at website: =20
http://www.epa.gov/oar/gr8water/ps/nst/engdoc/homepage.html.=20l
=20
******************************************************
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER
Support the work of the Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment.
Ssubscribe to "The
Gallon Environment Letter". The four-page newsletter is distributed twice
monthly. Send a
cheque for $98.00 a year (GST included) and help finance the research that
delivers inside
information and breaking news on environment business in Canada and the
world. Make cheque
out to "Gallon Letter", send to CIBE, 506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec,
H3Y 2R5.
Gary T. Gallon
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
506 Victoria Ave.
Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
Ph. (514) 369-0230
Fax (514) 369-3282
email: cibe@web.net
-
message sent by infoterra@cedar.univie.ac.at
to signoff from the list, send an email to
majordomo@cedar.univie.ac.at
the message body should read
unsubscribe infoterra your@email.address
-