Commissioner praises Depave work
In city same day province confirmed her duties will be combined with auditor general
Ontario environmental commissioner Dr. Dianne Saxe praised the community groups responsible for the Depave Paradise project on Water Street as she toured the site as part of a visit to Peterborough on Thursday.
The project is a great example of what can be accomplished when groups work together and more of that collaboration is needed, she told representatives of Peterborough GreenUp and the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA).
“I’m just amazed at how much they’ve been able to accomplish .... More of this will help all of us lead healthier lives,” Saxe said afterwards, pointing out how the new green space will reduce flood risks and water pollution.
Saxe said she was in wait-andsee mode when it comes to changes revealed in the province’s economic statement announced earlier in the afternoon, including moving her duties to the auditor general and rolling the Ontario child advocate into the ombudsman’s office.
Finance Minister Vic Fedeli announced the number of legislative officers would be cut from nine to six, reducing oversight of the oversight of the government’s activities.
Cutting watchdog posts by next May 1 is “to reduce unnecessary cost while preserving critical functions,” but the government couldn’t yet say exactly how many jobs will be cut, Canadian Press reported.
Earlier this week, Saxe released an annual report outlining her concerns over the alarming amount of raw sewage that has been overflowing into the province’s lakes and rivers.
Between April 2017 and last March, raw sewage overflowed into southern Ontario waterways 1,327 times and more of half of those mishaps were from nearly 60 outdated municipal sewer systems that combine sewage and stormwater, the report states.
Asked if larger cities are more to blame, Saxe said the problem is more extensive in some regions, such as southwestern Ontario, where there has been a more significant loss of forests and wetlands.
GreenUp executive director Brianna Salmon called the visit a great opportunity to highlight the project and demonstrate what is possible.
The fourth local depave project, a partnership with Green Communities Canada and the DBIA, saw some 787 square metres of pavement removed to make way for green space.
During her tour with GreenUp, Saxe also updated staff and volunteers on her annual report and the challenges that lie ahead when it comes to climate change and biodiversity loss.
“It helps us connect our work to provincial priorities,” Salmon said.
The environmental commissioner was also scheduled to speak about the province’s protected land shortfall at a Thursday evening event at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School hosted by Kawartha Land Trust and Trent University.
More than 300 were expected to attend. Saxe’s message: only 10.7 per cent of Ontario land is protected and the province doesn’t have a plan to meet the 17 per cent target by 2020 — the federal commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
“That’s a huge shortfall … and 2020 is just around the corner,” she said. “We need nature. We depend on it … we need to protect natural areas.”