Save the MNR!
 

When you think of Ontario, what comes to mind?

For many of us, Ontario means the Canadian Shield. It means forests and lakes. It means fish and wildlife. It means NATURE.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for managing and protecting the natural world in Ontario on behalf of all its citizens. Yet in the last 15 years, the MNR has seen this crucial work slashed.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union represents over 4,300 MNR employees. We are devoted to restoring and rebuilding the MNR so it can once again do the job that Ontarians want and expect it to do.

For more information about OPSEU, visit www.opseu.org.

Auditor General's report highlights need to protect Ontario's resources 

December 11, 2007  The Auditor-General's report today reinforced longstanding concerns of the union representing workers in the Ministry of Natural Resources. more...

The funding crisis and the report of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario

On April 24, 2007, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) told the public what staff in the Ministry of Natural Resources already knew: The MNR does not have the money, the people, or the expertise required to do its work.

In his report, Doing Less with Less, Commissioner Gord Miller said that, in real terms, the MNR budget was 18 per cent lower in 2006-07 than it was in 1992-93. View videos by the Environmental Commissioner.  On a per capita basis, Miller said, MNR funding has gone from $72 per Ontario citizen to just $49 – a 32 per cent cut. As a result, staff levels at the MNR have dropped from over 5,300 full-time equivalent positions to roughly 3,500 today.

Yet while budgets and staff have been cut back, the MNR’s workload has grown.  The MNR’s job is to be “the steward of Ontario’s provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates, petroleum resources and the Crown land and water that make up 87 per cent of the province.” It’s a big job that grows more complex every year. The ministry is responsible for enforcing 53 different laws.

There is no part of the MNR that is not suffering, the ECO report says.

Doing Less with Less looks at how the MNR is unable to do its work in four key areas: aggregates, provincial parks, fish and wildlife monitoring, and enforcement of conservation laws.

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The aggregate industry

Ontario needs gravel. Our economy uses 14 tonnes of it per person per year. While the Mike Harris government moved to a model of increased self-regulation for the aggregate industry – a model that the current government has not changed – the MNR is still responsible for overseeing some 6,000 pits and quarries. And while the ministry did hire a few more aggregate inspectors in January 2007, “Some individual inspectors are responsible for as many as 600 aggregate operations, although it is estimated that a staff person can effectively oversee a maximum of 150 sites,” the Environmental Commissioner notes.

As well, the ministry is unable to keep track of abandoned pits and quarries to see if they are being rehabilitated by their operators as required by law. The MNR believes 2,700 sites should be rehabilitated. The industry says about 70 of them are a priority. The MNR can’t do a thing about it.

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Provincial parks

Ontario spends less per campsite, per visit, and per hectare of protected area than almost any other jurisdiction in North America. For a detailed look at the state of our provincial parks, please visit the OPSEU site at www.saveontarioparks.ca.

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Fish and Wildlife monitoring

The total budget for the MNR’s Fish and Wildlife Program (FWP) is about $74 million. Of this, the Ontario government contributes just $12 million. The rest comes from fees collected from hunters, fishers, and trappers.

The FWP is supposed to protect species at risk, control invasive species, manage wildlife diseases, stock fish, lead the government’s biodiversity strategy, and much, much more. Right now, the MNR cannot even count fish and wildlife, let alone monitor them. “Considerable evidence exists that MNR lacks the capacity to meet its current obligations to conduct fish and wildlife inventory, monitoring, assessment and reporting activities, despite the efforts and expertise of its staff,” the Environmental Commissioner says. “The burden on MNR to protect and manage our natural heritage will continue to grow and its lack of capacity to provide adequate information for sound decision making will become increasingly apparent.”

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Enforcing conservation laws

About 200 Conservation Officers (COs) are responsible for enforcing some 30 pieces of legislation across the vast territory of Ontario.

The job of Conservation Officers is to catch poachers, enforce firearms and boating laws, stop the illegal trade in endangered species or wildlife parts, inspect fish markets, respond to tips from the public, and more. But right now, COs can’t do what they need to do. Every year, new logging roads open up vast areas of forest and new lakes to hunting, fishing, and trapping. Since 1992-93, however, the number of COs is down by about 20 per cent. What is equally bad is that COs no longer have the budgets necessary to keep patrol vehicles in the field.

As a result, enforcement activity is falling. From 2004-05 to 2005-06, MNR statistics showed an 11 per cent reduction in the number of fish and wildlife charges Conservation Officers laid, a 19 per cent reduction in the number of convictions, and a 25 per cent reduction in the amount of fines paid.

It all adds up to a field day for poachers.

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Office closures

Historically, MNR offices across Ontario were meeting places for all citizens who cared about natural resources. No more. All MNR offices have closed their doors to the public. Now, citizens who want information can’t get it, and citizens who have information about what’s happening in “the bush” have no one to pass it on to.

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Regulation of industry

Natural resources like timber, gravel, oil, and gas contribute tens of billions of dollars to Ontario’s economy every year. Hunting and fishing provide a livelihood for thousands of outpost camp operators, guides, and other workers. The MNR is responsible for ensuring compliance with laws and regulations related to private use of public resources.

In 1996, the Mike Harris government moved aggressively toward self-regulation for all resource-related industries. Hundreds of staff involved in industry regulation lost their jobs.  Ongoing budget pressures since 2003 have not improved the situation.

The problem with resource extraction today is not that resource violations may be occurring; it is simply that, with so few staff, the MNR often has no way of knowing whether they are occurring or not, let alone preventing them.

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Sign our petition

To sign our online petition and help save the MNR, click here.

To view signatures from our 2006 petition click here.

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Contact us

For more information on the OPSEU campaign to Save the MNR, please contact the members of the OPSEU Enforcement and Renewal Committee for the Ministry:

Elaine Bagnall, Peterborough: ebagnall_opseu@yahoo.ca

Peter Wall, Hearst: peterw@ntl.sympatico.ca

Dave Fluri, North Bay: dave.fluri@onlink.net

Ed Evens, Sioux Lookout: eevens@gosiouxlookout.com

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Sign our Petition