Our Environment, Our Rights

East Point Park Photo credit: Jen Falvy












Your Environmental Rights at a Glance - Good to Know!


This information is from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario website.

 If you live in Ontario, you’re really lucky. Why? Because you have environmental rights! For example, under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR), for instance, you have:


  • a right to know about – and have a say in – government decisions that affect the environment;
  • a right to ask the government to change or create environmental laws or policies; and
  • a right to ask the government to investigate if you think someone is breaking an environmental law.
Read the Environmental Bill of Rights itself, and its regulations, which describe how it applies to different ministries and laws, and approvals and permits.
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario is charged with monitoring and reporting on how well the government complies with the Environmental Bill of Rights.
What does the Environmental Bill of Rights mean for me?
Under the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR), you have rights to participate in ministry decisions about the environment and hold the government accountable for those decisions. (The EBR applies to environmentally significant decisions and proposals made by certain Ontario ministries or under certain Acts.)
You have the right to:
The Environmental Registry
The Environmental Registry is a key tool of the Environmental Bill of Rights. The Registry is a website that lets you keep informed about, and comment on, environmentally significant decisions in Ontario. Thanks to the EBR, the government is obliged to consider your comments. You can sign up to get email alerts about notices on the Environmental Registry that may interest you — as they are posted. Sign up now!
Statements of Environmental Values
Each of the ministries subject to the EBR has a Statement of Environmental Values (SEV). This statement guides the minister and ministry staff when they make decisions that might affect the environment. Statements of Environmental Values are available on the EBRwebsite.
Jennifer @ 416-871-5132 jenfalvy@hotmail.com

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