Swim Drink Fish Canada submitted comments on Bill 57, which eliminates the Environmental Commissioner's office in Ontario. The submission recommends: 1) Requiring annual reports to the legislature summarizing public participation and government responses to ensure transparency. 2) Developing a communication plan for ministries to notify the Auditor General about citizen submissions to facilitate oversight. 3) Creating a conflict-of-interest policy for ministries handling submissions about their own decisions. 4) Training ministry staff to properly handle the increased submission workload and provide contact information. 5) Adequately resourcing the Ministry of Environment to fulfill its new responsibilities educating the public about environmental rights.

1.
SUBMISSION FROM
Swim Drink Fish Canada
IN THE MATTER OF:
Bill 57 Restoring Trust, Transparency and
Accountability Act, 2018
Schedule 15 environmental bill of rights, 1993
SUBMITTED TO:
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
℅​ Timothy Bryan, Clerk
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mark Mattson, President & Waterkeeper
℅ admin@swimdrinkfish.ca | (416) 861-1237
December 3, 2018

2.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In November 2018, the Government of Ontario introduced ​Bill 57, Restoring Trust,
Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018.​ The primary purpose of the bill is to
implement the government’s fall economic statement. It is an omnibus bill that also
amends other existing provincial laws, including the ​Environmental Bill of Rights​.
This submission contains recommendations intended to protect the integrity and the
purpose of the Environmental Commissioner’s office.
COMMENTARY
The elimination of the office of the Environmental Commissioner is
disappointing
For two decades, the Commissioner’s office has provided both Ontarians and the
government with an independent voice to ensure accountability for environmental
protection programs in the province. There is precedent for housing an environmental
commissioner within an Auditor General’s office (e.g,. the Commissioner of the
Environment and Sustainable Development for the Government of Canada is housed
within the Auditor General of Canada’s office). However, great care must be taken to
ensure that the the Commissioner’s core mandate to safeguard transparent,
accountability, and responsible decision-making is protected.
The Auditor General’s annual environmental reports must help to
safeguard the integrity of the ​​Environmental Bill of Rights
Recommendation: Preserve the requirement for annual reports to the
legislature to include summaries of co-operation, compliance with statements
of environmental values, responses to citizen submissions and registry
comments, and other workings of the ​​EBR​​.
The Environmental Commissioner’s most important function over the years has been to
report annually to the legislature on the implementation of the ​Environmental Bill of
Rights​. Specifically, these reports ensure that Ontarians’ rights and ability to participate in
decision-making are being protected. The Commissioner was a neutral, independent
Page 2 of 6

3.
observer who monitored the relationship with Ontario residents seeking opportunities to
protect their air, water, land, and property.
While it is beneficial to have the government receive reports on matters such as energy
conservation and greenhouse gas emissions, those topics are not at the heart of the
Environmental Bill of Rights. ​In order for the environmental registry, right to investigation,
and right to review programs to work for Ontarians, there must be an annual report that
itemizes the requests for application, review, etc. been submitted to government. This
report must also describe government’s response to those applications.
Bill 57 streamlines the application process, making it easier for Ontarians to reach out
directly to government decision-makers. However, the risk with this approach is that it
eliminates the independent oversight of the process that the ECO formerly provided.
It is crucial that the Auditor General be required to report on citizen submissions and
public participation on the environmental registry, and that government departments
know their actions will be communicated to the public.
The clause that is being eliminated from the ​Environmental Bill of Rights ​that should be
left intact​ ​is 58:
(2) The annual report shall include,
(a) a report on the work of the Environmental Commissioner and on
whether the ministries affected by this Act have co-operated with requests
by the Commissioner for information;
(b) a summary of the information gathered by the Environmental
Commissioner as a result of performing the functions set out in section 57
including, for greater certainty, a summary of information about compliance
with ministry statements of environmental values gathered as a result of the
review carried out under clause 57 (a);
(c) a list of all proposals of which notice has been given under section 15, 16
or 22 during the period covered by the report but not under section 36 in
the same period;
Page 3 of 6

4.
A process for notifying the Auditor General about citizen submissions will
need to be put in place
Recommendation: Develop, publish, and implement a communications plan to
ensure information is proactively shared with the Auditor General.
Historically, the Commissioner’s office reviewed and redirected citizen submissions to
the appropriate ministry. Now that the public will submit their applications directly to the
appropriate ministry, a communications plan will be required that ensures:
(a) ministries notify the Auditor General when applications have been received
(b) ministries confirm for the Auditor General that applications were acknowledged
within the required timeframe
(c) ministries inform the Auditor General of their decision
The last item (c) is required in Bill 57, but a transparent and standardized process for
proactively communicating decisions will ensure that Ontarians’ rights are protected and
that the Auditor General is able to fulfil his or her new responsibilities efficiently.
Be on alert for conflicts-of-interest
Recommendation: Develop, publish, and implement a policy to identify and
avoid real or perceived conflicts-of-interest.
One of the main benefits of the Environmental Commissioner’s office was that it provided
a practical way to address conflicts-of-interest. In many cases, comments on registry
documents and citizen submissions are directed at ministries whose actions are at the
heart of public concerns. For example, a request for a review of a policy is usually
directed at the ministry responsible for the very policy citizens believe is a failure; or, a
ministry is asked to investigate an alleged violation that it has previously chosen to
overlook. Ministries will need to develop policies to identify and avoid conflicts-of-interest
and be able to demonstrate publicly that such policies have been followed.
Page 4 of 6

5.
Ministries should receive training on how to respond to citizen
submissions
Recommendation: Ensure Ministry staff who have responsibility for processing
citizen submissions are trained and provided with the resources they need to
fulfil their responsibilities.
Under Bill 57, the public may now write directly to a Ministry to request a review or
investigation. This will mean a greater influx of submissions being sent directly to
Ministries, without the benefit of the filtering and clarification work previously done by the
Commissioner’s office. Ministry staff who will have responsibility for processing citizen
submissions should be trained to do so and provided with the resources they need to
fulfil their responsibilities.
On a practical level, contacts for each Ministry should be published in a manner that is
easy for any Ontario resident to locate.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks will need
sufficient resources to fulfil its new education mandate
Recommendation: Ensure MOECP is provided with sufficient staff, resources,
and training to fulfil its new education mandate.
Bill 57 eliminates the office of the Environmental Commissioner and transfers
responsibilities to the Auditor General and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation,
and Parks (“MOECP”).
The MOECP is given new responsibilities for providing education programs about the
Environmental Bill of Rights to the public and within government. If the MOECP is going
to fulfill this role effectively, the department must be given sufficient staff, resources, and
training.
Page 5 of 6

6.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In light of the above commentary, Swim Drink Fish submits the following
recommendations:
1. Preserve the requirement for annual reports to the legislature to include
summaries of co-operation, compliance with statements of environmental values,
responses to citizen submissions and registry comments, and other workings of
the EBR.
2. Develop, publish, and implement a communications plan to ensure information is
proactively shared with the Auditor General.
3. Develop, publish, and implement a policy to identify and avoid real or perceived
conflicts-of-interest.
4. Ensure Ministry staff who have responsibility for processing citizen submissions
are trained and provided with the resources they need to fulfil their
responsibilities.
5. Ensure MOECP is provided with sufficient staff, resources, and training to fulfil its
new education mandate.
Page 6 of 6