Politics & Government

After much debate, the proposed Clarington incinerator has been approved by Durham Region council.

After a debate which has been heated on both sides, and after around 70 people and groups expressed concerns about the project, the motion passed 16-12.

On May 14th, 2009, the Ontario Green Energy Act basically passed and will soon be law. There seems to be a lot of people in the GTA who don't know a lot about this legislation, but who would like to know more about the meaning and possible effects.

We spoke with Mike Layton, Program Manager, Environmental Defence about the new legislation and some of the effects it might have in the Greater Toronto Area. Environmental defense is a 25 year old organization whose goal is to "protect the environment and human health across Canada". This respected organization publishes reports on environmental issues and helps educate Canadians on what we can do to reduce Canada's climate change footprint.

Effective April 22, 2009, Ontario has banned the use of more than 250 pesticides, and over 80 pesticide ingredients for cosmetic use. The ban, which is now law across the province of Ontario, bans the sale of pesticides "for cosmetic purposes on lawns, gardens, parks and school yards, and includes many herbicides, fungicides and insecticides".

Find out more about how this ban might affect you as a homeowner, and how you take care of your lawn this summer without pesticides.

The Green Toronto Awards for 2009 have now been awarded, and GreenGTA was there to cover the event and bring you the winners.

The City of Toronto's environmental awards of excellence honour and celebrate the individuals, organizations and companies leading the way to a cleaner, greener and more liveable Toronto.

This year's hosts were Mayor David Miller, Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, and special guest Ed Begley, Jr.

Here is a round-up of everyone who won, and who was an award finalist.

A waste incinerator for Durham Region, approved to be built in Clarington, will not have air monitoring tests performed once the facility begins operating.

The incinerator, proposed in 2007 and approved in a 19 to 7 council vote in 2008, is a joint project with York Region. It is intended to be built south of Highway 401 near the nuclear power plant.

The Region of Durham is currently working through the process of amending the official Regional plan to manage the growth of Durham Region. Currently, the "growth management" related policies of the plan are being studied and the official amendment is now in the public consultation phase.

The study and proposed changes are not without controversy however, as there have been several concerns raised about the proposed plan.

On Tuesday, the City of Toronto approved a plan to improve the quality of Toronto's beaches. In a 33-3 vote, the city restricted access to dogs on some beaches, and approved spending $1 million to place an underwater curtain off the shore of Sunnyside Beach to keep pollution away from swimmers.

The Regional Municipality of York has added mail-in rebates for "a variety of water-efficient fixtures" in the Region.

The rebates are part of the Water for Tomorrow program, which offers education and savings to help save water in the Region.

On January 15th, 2009, Better Place electric cars announced a partnership with the government of Ontario, which aims to bring its electric car network to Ontario. This will mark the first such agreement for Better Place in Canada.

As of December 9th, Toronto's Blue Bin program will start accepting plastic shopping bags and foam polystyrene packaging.