THE EBB AND FLOW OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT IN ONTARIO

The above title is the exact title of a Study done by the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund back in May 2001. This on-line study was found and distributed by one of the current Chemtura Public Advisory Committee members, namely Graham Chevreau. This study details the budget of the Ministry of the Environment (M.O.E.) from the late 1980's through till 2000. It also breaks it down showing how much went to reserach for example versus to Legal Services and or overall Enforcement. Finally the number of charges laid per year, the number of convictions and the dollar value of fines are all enumerated.

It is not a pretty picture and indeed the title says it all. Enforcement has ebbed and flowed in direct relation to the budget available to the M.O.E. to do the job. From a total budget of $664 million in 1992/93 to a low of $172 million in 2000/01 the lack of enforcement since the flurry in the early 90's is obvious. What is less obvious and behind the scenes is the required lobbying by business and industry needed to "achieve" this disaster. The 90's were supposed to be the turnaround decade and they started reasonably well. I now better understand how corruption in this country works. Instead of direct bribes to M.O.E. officials you simply do the exact opposite. You stop donating to political parties until they get the message. If they hold back money to the M.O.E. their party will benefit. Otherwise their political opponents will. What a perverse and disgusting system. It never fails to amaze me at how diligent the wealthy and powerfrul are at manipulating the levers of democracy in their own favour.

The irony is the stupidity of these wealthy and powerful people. Yes they and their friends and family make more money at the expense of the environment. Yes to a certain extent they can buy health and live in less polluted neighbourhoods. But only to a certain extent. They breath the same air and drink the same water and eat the same food. They are not immune to the health effects of a deteriorated environment. And they and their families will die all the sooner due to their "success" at lessening environmental enforcement by making the Ontario M.O.E. impotent.

It is class warfare but their aren't just winners and losers. There are losers and losers and our current system is broken.