Ontario bill would strip municipalities of veto over landfills and incinerators

The Ontario government has introduced legislation that would remove a rule requiring municipalities to give written support before a landfill or waste incinerator project can undergo a full environmental assessment. The Building Ontario Faster Act, tabled on October 27, proposes repealing a section of the Environmental Assessment Act that gave municipalities a "right to say no" to such projects. Environment Minister Todd McCarthy said the changes would make it easier to build new landfill capacity and recognize energy from waste as a core part of the waste management system. He cited new tariffs on trucks hauling garbage from Canada into Michigan as part of the justification. "The legislation would make it easier to build new landfill capacity here in Ontario, recognize energy from waste as a core part of our waste management system, and modernize how environmental decisions are made for the first time in more than three decades," McCarthy said last week. When asked if the province would force a landfill or incinerator on an unwilling municipality, McCarthy did not give a definite response, saying the government would "always prefer a host community that’s willing". He emphasized the need for conversations with municipalities and the local economic benefits of hosting such facilities.

"Brampton residents have been warning about the health and environmental impacts of the Emerald Incinerator for years. This government has ignored them," said Kitchener Centre Green Party MPP Aislinn Clancy.

Critics warn the changes could force municipalities to accept waste projects against their will, pointing to the recent approval of a major incinerator expansion in Brampton. In April, the province allowed the 30-year-old Emerald Energy From Waste facility to proceed with plans to nearly quintuple its incineration capacity, from 182,000 to 900,000 tonnes a year, without a full environmental assessment. Public health officials at the Region of Peel had warned the expansion would drive a six-fold increase in greenhouse gas emissions, posing a major setback for Peel’s climate targets and increasing health risks for nearby residents. The facility owner’s own Environmental Screening Report warned the surrounding area already has high levels of air pollution, including raised concentrations of hydrochloric acid and a probable human carcinogen that exceed provincial air quality standards. Peel Region’s Human Health Risk Assessment found that, under worst-case scenarios, certain air pollutants exceeded health effect benchmarks at community locations near the Brampton facility. In April, Peel Regional Council wrote to Ontario’s ministers of environment and health calling for stronger pollution controls and a rigorous evaluation of the project’s impacts.

"This is black and white. This is science," former Brampton Councillor Gurpartap Singh Toor said during the council meeting. "We had a lot of groups come, delegate about this, raising the red flag about this issue…here we have a project like this, that if it goes through, harms all those kids living in those areas." Steve Papagiannis, vice-president of the Brampton Environmental Alliance, said his community was not willing to host the incinerator expansion but the decision was forced onto the municipality.

The proposed legislative changes have stirred concern in other communities. In Caledon, Ward 1 councillor-elect Keri Parfitt wrote to residents urging them to submit comments before a November 26 deadline. "The proposed removal of environmental protections under the Environmental Bill of Rights, combined with the removal of municipal authority over landfill approvals, raises serious concerns, particularly for PRIVATE WELL OWNERS," she wrote. The Building Ontario Faster Act makes changes to over 20 existing pieces of legislation, including the Environmental Protection Act.

With files from The Pointer