The Ford Government is being called out for its decision to scrap the office of Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner.
Richard Lindgren is the lawyer for the Canadian Environmental Law Association and says removing the position sends a very negative message.
Lindgren calls the move an “unjustified roll-back of exisiting legal requirements that will result in far less transparency and far less accountability for environmental decision making in Ontario.”
He says it also undermines the independence of other government watch dogs like the Auditor General, the Ombudsman and the Integrity Commissioner.
The Environmental Commissioner’s job was cut along with the French Language Commissioner and the Office of the Independent Child Advocate.
The portfolio was moved to the Auditor General’s office.
