Upcoming conference to address future of environmental assessment in Ontario

Oct 5th, 2011 8:28 AM

Conference to be held at the Ontario Science Centre on October 26th and 27th
Media Advisory What: The Ontario Association for Impact Assessment (OAIA) will host its Annual Conference: "Making the Most of Ontario's Environmental Assessment Process." The program can be reviewed on the Conference website at: http://www.oaia.on.ca/2011conf/index.html Who: Speakers will include Gord Miller (Environmental Commissioner of Ontario), as well as Provincial, Conservation Authority and municipal officials, consultants, lawyers and academics, all active in Environmental Assessment (EA). When: October 26th and 27th, starting at 9.00 am on the 26th. Where: The Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Road (south of Eglinton), Toronto. See map at: http://g.co/maps/778xe Why be there? Continuing rapid urbanization in southern Ontario, along with climate change, will put more pressure on water and air quality as well as natural heritage resources over the coming decades. Most of the infrastructure projects required to serve this growth are planned under the Environmental Assessment Act. EA projects are often contentious. They include highways, landfill sites, waste incinerators, sewage treatment facilities, electricity transmission lines and gas-fired electricity generation plants like those proposed in Oakville and Mississauga. The Melancthon "megaquarry" was recently designated as an EA project. On this 35th anniversary of the Act, speakers at the Conference will provide a range of perspectives on the way EA is being applied and how it can be improved and adapted to better address this ongoing growth while also responding to new challenges like climate change. New approaches will be explored through case studies across the Province. Attendees will also participate in a concluding forum to generate ideas and future directions. Presentations and a Conference Report will be posted afterwards on the OAIA website at http://www.oaia.on.ca/
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For more information, please contact: Steve Rowe, Consultant and Incoming President, OAIA. Phone: 416-489-7434; E-mail: steven@srplan.ca Simon Miles, Consultant and Board Secretary, OAIA. Phone: 416-466-8793; E-mail: simon-miles@sympatico.ca The Ontario Association for Impact Assessmentis a forum for advancing innovation, development, and communication of best practice in impact assessment through the exchange of ideas and experiences among its members, and with other organizations with compatible interests.