| Ontario Sets Toxic Law Precedent | 21 April 09 |
 The Ontario government's proposed new legislation will reduce toxic substances by requiring facilities to report and track releases and uses. According to Pollution Watch, Ontario emits more cancer-causing chemicals into the air than any other province.If approved the Toxic Reduction Act 2009 would require facilities to provide a plan for toxic use reduction. This requirement in the legislation is completely voluntary. "It sounds troublesome," said Aaron Freeman, policy director with Environmental Defence "but a model of mandatory reporting and then voluntary target-setting actually works very well." The voluntary approach is modeled after Massachusett's Toxic Use Reduction Act which saw a 91 percent reduction in environmental releases and 64 percent reduction in toxic waste. Ontario will invest $24 million to help industries transform their processes and move away from toxic substance use. View April 7, 2009 Ontario Ministry of the Environment press releaseView Backgrounder: The Proposed Toxics Reduction Act Planned Consultations and Next Steps (PDF) View April 8, 2009 CBC article View April 7, 2009 Environmental Defence press release View April 8, 2009 Environmental News Service article View April 8, 2009 The Hamilton Spectator article Sources: Ontario Ministry of the Environment, CBC, Environmental Defence, Environmental News Service, The Hamilton Spectator |
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