2011: The start of a shift in how Ontario views the environment and cleantech sector?

An analysis by ONEIA Executive Director Alex Gill

To say that 2011 was an interesting year for Ontario’s environment and cleantech sector was an understatement.  Policy and regulatory initiatives continued to break new ground for the first part of the year, as the Province passed the Water Opportunities Act (establishing, among other things, a stand-alone corporation called Water TAP) and continued its Modernization of Approvals process to improve MOE’s processes in this area. 

It was the provincial election and its results, however, that had the most visible impact on our sector and could lead to profound changes in the coming years.  In October, after two terms of a majority government, we elected its first minority government in a generation.  During the election campaign, the government’s “green agenda” came under fire from both opposition parties, who used it to characterize the Liberals as out of touch with “average families” and specifically blamed the Green Energy Act for driving up individual hydro rates (for an explanation of why this is not the case, check out the Ontario Environment Commissioner’s posting on this question at http://www.eco.on.ca/blog/2011/03/22/the-true-cost-of-renewable-energy-and-conservation/).

The election established a dynamic, unfortunately, that could threaten the gains that the environment and cleantech sector has made among all parties in the past several years.  While any government policies in this area can of course be reconsidered and improved, serious doubts are being raised about the value of this sector – and by extension its companies – to Ontario’s economy and society.  Some companies across the sector have been characterized as undeserving beneficiaries of a provincial “gravy train” rather than a world-class asset for this province that can create employment and help modernize our aging industrial and physical infrastructure.  If this dynamic takes hold, it may cause governments and opposition parties to turn a deaf ear to the very legitimate issues that affect our sector.

As 2011 draws to a close, the challenge facing Ontario’s environment and cleantech companies is becoming clear.  It is up to our sector to communicate its value, free from partisanship, in a way that highlights why our companies matter and their concerns should be taken seriously.  We need all sides of this political equation to understand what is at stake here.  Our companies employ more than 65,000 people across Ontario.  Our companies create new jobs while more traditional parts of the economy are losing jobs or treading water.  Our companies export to markets across Canada and around the world.  And our companies can teach other parts of our economy about how to be innovative, productive and responsive to market demand.

At ONEIA, we will continue to talk with political parties, policymakers and others about the concerns of our industry and the value it brings to our province.  Planning is already well underway for our 12th annual Environment Industry Day 2012 at Queen’s Park.  We expect to announce a date soon – so stay tuned!

In the interim, feel free to have your say.  You can post your comments on the ONEIA website (go to the tab BLOG) or send us an e-mail at info@oneia.ca.

Thanks and we look forward to continuing the conversation in the New Year.

Alex Gill is the Executive Director of ONEIA and can be reached at agill@oneia.ca or through LinkedIn.