1. Environmental Executive

   Our Executive consists of approximately 34 members.

   At the commencement of my term as Chair in September 2000, the Executive included representatives from the Ministry of the Environment, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, and the Environmental Assessment and Appeal Boards.

   In order to facilitate representation by officials from government and public interest advocacy groups, liaison positions were created on the Executive for representatives from the Ministry of the Environment, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Commissioner's Office.

   The Executive has been trying to recruit representatives from outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on our Executive. In that regard, we have placed an advertisement in the Environews and will advertise again with the election mail outs. Members from outside the GTA will be advised that they can participate on the Executive by conference call.

   At the commencement of my term, we agreed to govern ourselves according to the "guidelines" for membership that were created by my predecessor and adopted by the Executive. These guidelines set out minimum levels of participation by all members of the Executive and were implemented in order to ensure that all members are active and contribute to the work of the Section.

   The Executive meets on a monthly basis in order to discuss cases or items of interest to the Section, ideas for programs and section meetings, government relations, our environmental newsletter, and other items raised by members of the Executive.

2. Meetings with the Ministry of the Environment, Environmental Commissioner

   Our Section has agreed to participate in a Roundtable with officials from the Ministry of the Environment to discuss public policy issues of mutual interest. The Roundtable is intended to provide a forum where members of the Section can exchange views with Ministry officials on a variety of topics. The Roundtable is scheduled to take place in late May or June, and will be attended by both the Minister and Deputy Minister of the Environment. The three topics chosen for discussion at the Roundtable will be enforcement and compliance; standard setting and brownfield development; and alternative service delivery. The intent is for the Roundtable to become an annual event.

   The Section is arranging an annual meeting with the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario following the release of the Commissioner's annual report to the Legislature in October 2001. The meeting will take the form of a workshop. It will be presided over by the Environmental Commissioner.

   In addition, the Brownfields Subcommittee has met on two occasions with the Land Use Policy Branch of the Ministry of the Environment to assist in the development of amendments to encourage brownfield development.

3. Submissions to Government

Our Section prepared submissions in relation to the following:

• New Drinking Water Protection Regulation, Use of the Emergency Exception under the Environmental Bill of Rights, September 2000;

• Bill 124, the Toughest Environmental Penalties Act, November 2000;

• Airborne Contaminant Discharge, December 2000; and

• Legislation to encourage Brownfield development.

In addition, the Executive is in the process of preparing submissions in relation to:

• Val Gibbons Report; and

• Walkerton Inquiry, Part II documents..

4. Programs

1. Groundwater Protection Taking: Law and Policy; November 7, 2000;

2. NAFTA and the Environment- Six Years Later; January 18, 2001 (Joint Program with the International Law Section)

3. Land Use Conflict in Urbanizing Rural Areas, February 2, 2001; (Joint Program with the Municipal Law Section at the CBAO Institute); and

4. Back with a Vengeance! What Business Lawyers and in-house Counsel Need to Know about Environmental Law, April 2, 2001.

The following programs are planned for 2001:

1. Roundtable with the Ministry of the Environment, May/June 2001 (see above);

2. A Workshop on the Environmental Bill of Rights with the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, October 2001;

3. What You Need to Know about CEPA in 120 Minutes;

4. Administrative Monetary Penalties, following the publication of regulations; and

5. Walkerton Update, Fall 2001.

5. Environnews

   We have published three issues of Environews this year, each of which has been filled with interesting and well-written articles. We have received very positive feedback from our membership regarding Environews and the quality of the information provided.