GBA 2020 - Fall Update

www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Fall 2020 T he provisions under the COVID emergency have led to certain challenges on the advocacy front. Although many government departments have shown willingness to meet virtually, it has been very difficult to talk to anyone as the offices are largely empty. Despite this, we have been able to make some progress on a few fronts. Two of our major efforts since my last report have been in the areas of water levels and planning matters, which are well covered elsewhere in this issue, so I will provide a quick rundown of some other matters. Aquaculture Recently we submitted detailed comments relevant to the open net pen aquaculture industry in Georgian Bay and the North Channel to the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) on their review of the class environmental assessment (EA) for resource stewardship and facility development (RSFD) projects, see here: https:// georgianbay.ca/news/gba-asks-mecp-to-recategorize- open-net-pen-aquaculture-ea GBA has been insisting for many years that this industry must be assessed under a Category C EA RSFD process, not Category A . Category A is only supposed to be used for projects that have minimal environmental impacts and very low public concern. We have repeatedly provided evidence to the government that neither of these descriptors apply to this industry. Since the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) plans to expand the operational boundaries of each existing cage site and allow an increase in production levels, this is critical. We will continue to press this issue in our ongoing cooperative and productive discussions with MNRF and MECP. Bill 197 The Ontario government COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 took advantage of the emergency to introduce amendments to 20 existing pieces of environmental protection legislation, including environmental assessment provisions, ostensibly to stimulate economic growth and facilitate development. Almost immediately the Ontario Auditor General declared that the process of approving this bill did not comply with the Environmental Bill of Rights. This was then followed by a class action judicial review application led by EcoJustice calling for a proper public consultation process, and later a separate action by 133 First Nation bands. GBA is closely monitoring the situation and has made some suggestions to our non-governmental organization (NGO) colleagues that launched the judicial review on the need to improve mainstream media coverage. We have also confirmed our support for seeking compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) before these new laws are put into effect, but, as you will see under the Wiiky update below, the government has already taken some action under this legislation. See: https://georgianbay.ca/news/ ontario-government-is-facing-legal-challenges-over- bill-197 Wiikwemkoong Islands Boundary Claim Settlement You will recall that GBA joined Northern Georgian Bay Association in submitting a Part II Order in response to Ontario’s environmental study report (ESR) on this matter, see: https://georgianbay.ca/government-affairs/wiikwemkoong- islands-boundary-claim/ All Part II Orders underway but not resolved have now been summarily and retroactively cancelled under the Bill 197 legislation and we have been so notified. We are considering our options. The good news on this file is that our relationship and ongoing, rewarding discussions with the Wiiky are in good shape. Some other GBA actions are briefly summarized below: Issue Details Cormorant Hunt This hunt commenced on September 15. We were pleased that the Ontario government made some concessions to requests from GBA and others, by reducing the daily limit to 15 from 50 and requiring the birds to be picked up, but we would still have preferred that they paid attention to the science and cancelled it. See https://georgianbay.ca/ fisheries/cormorants/ for full details, including my live interview with CBC radio. Henvey Inlet fire investigation report Following two more detailed GBA submissions over the summer, the adjudication process on this matter is now complete, with a decision expected by year end. In the meantime, we have just received a massive amount of background material used to make up the report, which we are reviewing for anything useful. TCEnergy (TCE) pumped storage project at Meaford Following input from GBA and others, TCE completely revised its design for this project which now addresses almost all our major environmental concerns. However, despite this welcome development, we are not taking the pressure off, and have submitted a detailed summary of our outstanding concerns to the City of Meaford and, separately, to the Department of Defense (DND). DND have extended their public comment period to Sept 30 and details of that and full project details can be found here: https://georgianbay.ca/tc-energy/ As always there will be more reports in the next UPDATE issue and many thanks for all the input we receive advising us of new issues or developments, and thoughts on existing files. Our advocacy really benefits from your help. ED’S ADVOCACY REPORT By Rupert Kindersley, Executive Director