Expert warns Ontario to prepare for climate change

The unseasonably warm weather is nice but it’s a warning that climate change is coming and Ontario is not prepared, Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller said Wednesday. And deadly tornadoes that hit Indiana this week — an unusual occurrence so far north in winter — are a signal the province must do more to get ready for fiercer and more frequent storms, be they ice or rain, heat waves and new pests — insects and weeds from the south. “On the back of our $5 bill is kids playing shinny on an outdoor rink,” he said after delivering a 22-page report calling on the government to “climate-proof” Ontario. “We have an infrastructure built for a climate we no longer have.” Miller faulted Premier Dalton Mcguinty’s minority government for gaps and weaknesses in a climate change mitigation strategy that doesn’t even mention the ministry of energy, which is responsible for an electricity system that can be vulnerable to ice storms, as in the 1998 disaster.

Environment Minister Jim Bradley said Ontario is already making changes to building codes to make houses and offices more storm resistant and is taking other steps.

“When you’re building new bridges and other structures you take into account the fact that we could see significant climate change,” Bradley told reporters.

“I understand the Ontario government faces fiscal challenges right now,” Miller said in a nod to the $16 billion deficit and Mcguinty’s warning of cost-cutting in the upcoming budget. “But the costs of adjusting to climate change in the future will only continue to increase if we don’t take action now.” The cost of extreme weather events is projected to be $5.6 billion a year by mid-century, he added.