By Moira Welsh and David Bruser, Toronto Star, July 10, 2020
Indigenous communities in Ontario’s north fear another round of mercury poisoning after the provincial government eliminated environmental assessments for commercial clear-cutting on Crown forest land.
The change was made on Canada Day, a few hours after Premier Doug Ford’s office posted a news release that listed more than a dozen regulatory and legislative changes within 11 ministries.
The government says it is “ending duplication” by removing logging activities from the Environmental Assessment Act, which falls under the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Now, logging plans and practices will only be answerable to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and its Crown Forest Sustainability Act.g
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/07/10/the-end-of-environmental-assessments-for-clear-cut-logging-has-grassy-narrows-first-nation-fearing-more-mercury-poisoning.html