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Press Release by Ontario Ministry of Environment

“This government is determined that Ontario will not become a dumping ground for other countries’ PCB waste,” said Environment Minister Dan Newman. “That is why we have never allowed foreign PCB-contaminated waste to be disposed of here.”

The matter came to a head last month when a ship from Japan with scrap electrical equipment containing PCBs arrived in Vancouver. The shipment was destined for TCI’s facility in Kirkland Lake. The Vancouver Port Authority would not allow the cargo to be unloaded, because it had no approved destination in Canada. The ship returned to Japan with its cargo.

Last year TCI asked for an amendment to their certificate of approval that would allow them to accept PCB wastes from countries that are signatories to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and from member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The ministry denied TCI’s request, and the company appealed the decision to Ontario’s Environmental Appeal Board. The preliminary hearing was held on March 30, 2000, and the appeal hearing was scheduled for May.

“We believe that a strong Ontario is a clean Ontario,” Newman said. “This development builds on our record of aggressive action to protect the province’s air, water and land.”

Among provincial actions to protect the environment:

A new Air Quality index initiative was recently established to inform Ontarians about good and bad air quality days. The initiative complements the province’s aggressive air protection campaign, which includes:

• Drive Clean;
• the Smog Patrol;
• Ontario’s court intervention to uphold U.S. pollution control measures;
• the Anti-Smog Action Plan;
• and strong new measures targeting smog and acid rain, such as mandatory monitoring and reporting of air emissions and tough new emissions caps.

The Ontario Water Taking and Transfer Regulation (Regulation 285/99) was enacted to better protect Ontario’s water resources by prohibiting the transfer or diversion of water out of the Great Lakes and other provincial water basins.

The $200-million Provincial Water Protection Fund is ensuring that Ontario communities receive safe, clean drinking water.

Newly-introduced changes to Ontario’s hazardous waste regulation will make it the toughest in Ontario’s history. The changes are part of a six-point action plan to strengthen Ontario’s hazardous waste regulation and harmonize it with U.S. rules.

For further information: John Steele , (416) 314-6653, Communications Branch

Hal Vincent, (416) 314-6739, Minister’s Office