Message from the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change

I am pleased to once again release the annual report on toxics reduction, the fourth since Ontario’s Toxics Reduction Act was implemented.

This report highlights the positive actions facilities are taking to reduce the use and release of toxics into our air, land and water. Through our toxics reduction program we are working closely with industry to reduce the creation and use of toxic substances, complementing other ministry programs such as lowering smog-causing emissions from vehicles and implementing stricter air and water standards.

In 2011, our government introduced Ontario’s Toxic Reduction Act, which focuses on limiting and reducing the creation and use of toxic substances at the beginning of the industrial process. This was an important step that encouraged manufacturers to carefully consider what materials to use to make their products. It was an ambitious plan to help protect our environment and human health.

Five years later, I am pleased with the progress being made. Overall, levels have gone down at facilities where they have committed to reducing the use of toxic substances.

So far, nearly 40 per cent of facilities covered under the act have agreed to take action to reduce the use of at least one toxic substance. Numbers show that, in most cases, they are reducing the creation and use of toxic substances. It’s a positive step in the right direction.

We are also expanding on the important information being shared with industry and all Ontarians. For the first time, this report includes new information about the top five toxic substances used, created and contained in products made in Ontario, information on the substances linked with cancer and particulate matter, and profiles of 20 industrial sectors regulated under the act.

We are also sharing enhancements to the province’s Toxics Environment Map. The map makes it easier to learn about industrial facilities operating in your community. The map also shows which facilities intend to implement a toxics reduction option.

We are especially grateful for the help we receive from our public health partners. We are working together to help inform Ontarians about substances linked with cancer.

My government is working to reduce toxics through legislation, education and support to industry. As a result, government, businesses and residents are working together to find innovative ways to keep toxic substances out of our environment.

But we need to do more to protect Ontarians and the environment from the harmful effects of toxic substances. Together, we need to encourage facilities to seek greener and safer alternatives for their industrial processes. As a government, we need to help manufacturers overcome their challenges so that cleaner processes will prevail.

Ontarians want healthy communities. They also want a strong economy. Through our Toxics Reduction Act, we have found a way to deliver on both.

I encourage people to find and support Ontario companies reducing the use and creation of toxic pollutants and encourage others to follow suit. I look forward to continuing to engage with industry and the public on ways for Ontario to achieve this goal.

Purpose

The minister’s fourth annual report on toxics reduction provides an update on Ontario’s progress in implementing the toxics reduction program. It also provides information on the amount of toxic substances that Ontario facilities used, created and released between 2012 and 2015.

One of the purposes of the Toxics Reduction Act is to inform Ontarians about toxic substances. This goal aligns with Ontario’s commitment to an open and transparent government, and to meet these goals, Ontario continues to post updated information and data on Ontario’s Open Data Catalogue. Annual reports and summaries of toxics reduction plans of regulated facilities are also available on the province’s Toxics Environment Map. Ontarians can search the map by geographic location, company name, toxic substance or sector to identify regulated facilities in their communities.

What’s new

Ontario is pleased to release an enhanced Toxics Environment Map. This map has undergone improvements to provide Ontarians with more information on where actions are being taken by facilities to reduce toxic substances, as well as provide additional information on substances used in Ontario.

This annual report also includes new sector profiles for each of the 20 sectors that are required to report under the Toxics Reduction Act. These profiles provide information on the top five substances used, created and released, as well as other key information.

You will also find more information on substances that may be of greater interest to Ontarians including data on the top five substances that were used, created and released in 2015; substances linked with cancer; and particulate matter.

Living list

The Living List is the list of toxic substances under the Toxics Reduction Act that subject facilities have to report and plan on. It is called the Living List because it can change over time as the province is required to review the list for possible changes every five years.

The province is continually accepting nominations for potential changes to the list of substances regulated under the act. Anyone can make a nomination to make a change to the list, including the province. Ontario will consider each nomination according to criteria detailed in the nomination guide and decide if a substance will be reviewed.

For more details on the process, including a periodically updated status of nominations received, see the Living List webpage and Nomination Guide. As of December 12, 2016, no nominations have been submitted.