On Monday, March 18th, the Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) released A New Environmental Bill of Rights for Ontario: Final Report, a comprehensive and independent review of Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 (EBR).

The LCO has concluded that major law reforms are needed to ensure environmental accountability in Ontario. The LCO report makes 58 recommendations to amend the EBR and related policies.

Key Findings

  • The EBR does not respond to the environmental challenges facing Ontarians.
  • Many significant provincial environmental decisions are sheltered from public accountability.
  • The EBR must be updated to include contemporary environmental priorities, improve public participation, and to clarify its application.

Key Recommendations

  • The EBR should be amended to establish a right to a healthy environment, authorize environmental protection actions, adopt environmental justice principles, and update its purposes.
  • The EBR should also be amended to improve Statements of Environmental Values, strengthen the Commissioner of the Environment, and improve access to environmental information.

If enacted, LCO reforms would promote stronger provincial environmental laws, policies, and decision-making; improve public accountability and participation; improve Ontario’s ability to address climate change; and improve environmental outcomes across the province.

The report is the first comprehensive, independent review of the EBR since it was enacted.

The Executive Summary, Final Report, and background information are available on the LCO’s project website here: Environmental Accountability: Rights, Responsibilities and Access to Justice.