Mike Crawley, CBC News, July 20, 2019
The Ford government is boosting the province's powers to slap fines on industry for breaking Ontario's environmental rules, but environmental activists say there's an important catch that actually weakens protections against air pollution.
This month, changes took effect giving provincial environmental officers wider scope to issue fines for such violations as emitting excess sulphur dioxide, a toxic compound typically released by oil refineries. The maximum fine is now $200,000, double the previous limit.
The government pitches this as part of Premier Doug Ford`s promise to "come down heavy" on polluters.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-environment-fines-sulphur-dioxide-flaring-1.5217939