Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO), released his third annual report to the Ontario Legislature today, citing the loss of biodiversity as a "flashpoint" concern underpinning many of the environmental problems facing the province. In his press conference this morning at the Queen’s Park Media Studio,

Miller listed the species he is most concerned about: the woodland caribou of northern boreal forests, the eastern wolves of Algonquin, and the lake trout of Ontario's inland lakes, a species that "symbolizes the clear cold waters of our northern wilderness." 

"What's most frustrating is that Ontario has made international, national and provincial commitments to conserve biodiversity, and those commitments are being completely ignored," said Miller, who monitors compliance by provincial ministries with the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR). He called on the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to develop a provincial biodiversity strategy before Ontario faces a major crisis in this area.

This year's ECO report, entitled "Developing Sustainability," covers the full spectrum of Ontario's environmental problems. The provincial government has launched several "grand experiments" that have the potential to improve environmental protection, but their failure carries significant risks, Miller cautioned, saying that he and his staff will monitor these experiments closely. MNR's plan to have the forest industry cut down large swaths of forest to emulate forest fires carries the risk of worsening the impacts logging already has on biodiversity. Similarly,

the Ministry of the Environment's (MOE) emissions reduction trading scheme to reduce air pollution from power plants will work only when emissions from other industrial sectors are measured and capped. 

This year’s ECO Recognition Award went to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAH) for developing the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, which Miller called an innovative approach to land use planning. "But the devil is in the details," Miller warned, and unless the Plan for the Moraine is carefully implemented, "its spirit and intent will not be realized." MAH should use the Plan as a model for planning in the rest of the province, he added, where growing urban sprawl is threatening the natural environment and exacerbating air pollution.