Ontario Hansard - 19-June-2006

AIR QUALITY

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): My question is for the Acting Premier. Today, we are not alone in our frustration with the McGuinty government, with their patchwork policies and their broken promises. We are in the good company of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.

Last year, the McGuinty government, together with provincial and territorial environment ministers, agreed to reduce highly toxic mercury emissions by 50% by 2010. Your government is now breaking that promise -- not a big surprise. But the Minister of the Environment, a champion for mercury and air issues, reminded us on May 18, 2006, right here in the Legislature, that one of her very first announcements as Minister of the Environment was to improve our air emission standards. Clearly, the minister is not willing to support that statement with a firm plan and commitment. On April 5, 2006, again in this very room, Minister Broten indicated that the McGuinty government is tackling the serious issue of air pollution head on. Breaking your promise is certainly a phenomenal start on that.

My question to the Acting Premier is, why at this late stage is your government backing out of a Canada-wide agreement –

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Acting Premier?

Hon. Leona Dombrowsky (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs): I'm very happy to have the opportunity to educate the member opposite, because I was at the federal-provincial-territorial meeting where Ontario, identified as the champion, agreed that we would move forward with a mercury initiative. I think it would be important that you direct your research folks to do more than just read the paper.

In fact, I have with me the letter that the Minister of the Environment sent to the Minister of the Environment from Saskatchewan, where it indicates very clearly, as champion for mercury and air issues within the CCME forum -- and that is Ontario's privilege -- Ontario strongly supports the work that's being done by CCME in developing Canada-wide standards. I would say that's actually a very solid commitment and that our commitment is followed by results, in that we have reduced mercury emissions by 33% since we've come to government.

Ms. Scott: The bottom line is that the McGuinty government broke a key campaign promise in 2003 to shut the coal-fired plants by 2007. In your usual patchwork approach to policy, you've just realized that this means you can't keep the promise to reduce mercury levels either. What we have here is a snowball effect of broken promises, policy created in a vacuum and a definite lack of leadership.

The McGuinty government and the Minister of the Environment have paid lip service to reducing emissions, but you have done precious little to create a comprehensive strategy or plan that works in conjunction with all of your last-minute policy flip-flops and broken promises. When can the people of Ontario finally see a comprehensive plan to reduce harmful mercury emissions and meet the standards that the rest of the provinces in Canada are working hard to meet? What deadline date have you given to the OPA to respond to you with their emission plan?

Hon. Mrs. Dombrowsky: This is really rich, coming from a member of a government that reduced emissions by 11%. We have tripled that. We have reduced mercury emissions by 33%. Those are results. In addition to that, I would like to say to the honourable member that we have reduced our reliance on coal by 17%, we've reduced SOx emissions by 28%, we've reduced NOx emissions by 34% and we've reduced CO2 emissions by 15%. I would set that record aside the record of the previous government any day.

We are committed to cleaning up the air. Our minister is committed to establishing a Canada-wide standard for mercury. What she has indicated to the minister from Saskatchewan is that she very much looks forward to doing that face to face with them in the very near future.