On Wednesday, the Ontario government released a pollution and spill reporting system where residents can report pollution incidents online or by phone.
According to the release, residents can use the tool to report incidents such as oil, chemical pollution, commercial noise pollution, illegal dumping and improper disposal of commercial wastes.
“Our government takes environmental violations very seriously and has zero tolerance for illegal polluters — and we know the people of Ontario are eager to do their part to protect our environment.,” said Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
“With your help, we can hold polluters accountable and ensure compliance with the environmental laws we have in place to protect our air, land and water for generations to come.”
When residents submit a tip they will have the option to include additional information about the incident including the location, photographs and any video or audio files.
Prior to being elected in 2018, Ontario Premier Doug Ford ran on a campaign promise to fight the federally imposed carbon tax.
As Premier, Ford launched a constitutional challenge of the carbon tax, joining other provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta. The challenge was eventually quashed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
When the decision was handed down in March, Premier Ford said that while he was “disappointed” with the decision, his government would follow it.
“We’re definitely going to take a review of what the Supreme Court decision means for Ontario on our environment policy and move on from there,” said Ford at the time.
“Right now, I think we have a strong made-in-Ontario environment plan that’s going to put the necessary protections in place for the land, air and water.”
