GUEST COMMENT BY GORD MILLER
Axing Environmental Commissioner’s office demonstrates subjugation of independent officers of the legislature
L
ike many jurisdictions with parliamenShould you be so naive as to believe that such tary traditions, the Legislature of Ontario interference or retribution would be neither appoints Legislative Officers (sometimes allowed or tolerated in Ontario, look no further called Parliamentary officers) to oversee than the current Environmental Commissionand review activities of government that warrant er’s September 25, 2018 Greenhouse Gas Progspecial concern. Their duties include regularly ress report (where she defended the merits of issuing public reports that critically evaluate cap-and-trade). government performance in specific areas. I also invite you to read the response letter The Officers are chosen by an all-party Comsent by the Minister of Environment Conservamittee and report directly to the Legislature tion and Parks. The Minister responded, in part, through the Speaker, not to the Premier and his/ “I want to respectfully advise that any suggestion her government. we should pursue policies that betray commitTradition and current legislation says they ments we made to the people is not well taken.” are appointed for specific terms and canThe veiled threat made two months ago, was not be removed during that time (unless they cloaked in the language of respect because of the can no longer do their job or have committed a protection of the independence that the Comwrong-doing serious enough to give the Legislamissioner enjoyed at the time. ture “cause.”) This inherent security of their posiMove ahead in time and read the sentence tions is necessary to protect the Officers from again, through the eyes of a Legislative Officer undue influence by the government they review, who can be summarily suspended because of the or from reprisal for revealing embarrassing opinion of the governing party, and the threat information in their reports. emerges with great clarity. Ontario has nine Legislative Officers and is Bill 57 masquerades as an economic efficiency intent on cutting that to six, by elimination of the initiative, while it is a vehicle to dismantle an Child Advocate, the French Language Services important parliamentary mechanism of governCommissioner and the Environmental Commis- ment accountability. It is a shiny new tool for sioner, through recently introduced Bill 57. the governing party to stifle the criticism of parBut Bill 57 goes much further. It fundamenliamentary watchdogs using intimidation and tally undermines the independence of Legislathreats. Is the Ontario public well-served by this tive Officers by allowing a party with a majority development – I think not. to suspend any Legislative Officer based merely on “the opinion the suspension is warranted.” Of Editor’s note: The 2017-2018 Environmental course, there is no precedent, no test or limitaCommissioner of Ontario’s office budget was less than $4 million, representing an extremely small tion to guide that opinion. percentage of the $141 billion Ontario provincial This power to arbitrarily suspend Officers means the end of the era of independent Officers budget for 2017. of the Legislature. Officers will now be “sitting ducks” to threats of retaliation by the governing party demanding a say in what the Officers reveal in their public reports to the Legislature. By failing to bend to the governing party’s wishes, Officers will risk their jobs, even though their jobs are explicitly to shine light on things gone wrong. And just to make sure the threat is clear, Bill 57 also removes the ability of eliminated Officers to seek compensation for their loss of income in the courts. 6 | December 2018
Gord Miller served as Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner for three terms and four different premiers. He currently resides in North Bay, Ontario. Email: ecoguy@gmail.com
Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine
