Inaction on coal-burning may cost Ontario dearly

Hamilton Spectator - Monday August 28, 2000
Editorial

The province of Ontario has gone from being environmental leader to laggard, and nowhere is this more evident than in efforts to curb air pollution generated by coal-burning power plants like the one on Lake Erie's shores at Nanticoke.

By the provincial government's own admission, much of the smog generated in this province is the result of fossil fuels used at Nanticoke and four other plants.

Rather than take meaningful action to curb emissions, the provincial environment ministry has responded by dragging its feet and making excuses. Ontario's plants are no worse than many in the United States, the province says, like a child rationalizing bad behaviour. Clearly on the defensive, Queen's Park has launched a review of coal plants to study the problem. How long will that take, and when can we expect action? They can't say.

The time for stalling and rhetoric has past. Last week the federal government concluded a series of meetings with U.S. environment officials. When he emerged, Federal Environment Minister David Anderson had tough new language on air pollution.

Anderson said: "Canada needs to take action to reduce its own ources of transboundary pollution to ensure we get tangible action from the American side." By itself, this sentiment is not new. What is new, and should cause denizens of Queen's Park to rouse from summer lethargy, is that Ottawa is no longer just talking; it's prepared to impose emission controls on dirty power plants.

The provincial government's response to the possibility that Ottawa may legislate air quality improvement is predictably lame: Ottawa doesn't have legal jurisdiction.

We're betting that the federal government does have legal authority. They certainly have the political and ethical high ground. If Ontario can't or won't take steps to protect its citizens from toxic air pollution, how could the federal government do anything other than step in?

The facts are clear. When Ontario had to close several nuclear generating stations, it increased reliance on fossil fuels. There has been ample time in the interim to study the best way to convert coal-burning plants to natural gas, or at least to outfit them with state-of-the-art emission control equipment. But for the longest time, Queen's Park did nothing. Then it announced plans to sell the five plants, and only after public pressure the government agreed to hold off the sales until it could decide what to do about the emission problems.

Now, here we are on the cusp of another winter, the coal-burning plants are still essential, still spewing smog-causing emissions. Each year, smog kills 5,000 Canadians and leads to health problems for millions more.

Thankfully, Ottawa and Washington are getting serious about a joint commitment to reduce cross-border emissions. Ontario could have avoided being handled roughly by being part of the solution rather than the problem, but it chose inaction instead, and will suffer the consequences.

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