NEWS RELEASE
TED ARNOTT, MPP FOR WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS
*************************
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott has been appointed Official Opposition Critic to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
“I’m excited about this new challenge and I’m looking forward it. My colleague Lisa Thompson did a superb job as Environment Critic. I hope to pick up where she left off,” Mr. Arnott said. “We believe that growing the economy and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive. They can and must go hand-in-hand.”
Mr. Arnott has long been a proponent of environmental sustainability.
He has previously served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of the Environment from 2001-2002. It was during this time that then-Environment Minister Elizabeth Witmer announced that the Lakeview Generating Station in Mississauga would be the first coal-fired electricity plant in Ontario to stop burning coal.
In a speech in the Ontario Legislature in 2006, Mr. Arnott acknowledged the reality of Climate Change: “I think it is fair to say that whether you look at it as climate change or global warming, it is a real concern of many people in the province of Ontario… The preponderance of scientific evidence seems to suggest that human activity in recent years is at least accelerating this change… So obviously it's something that we all have to be concerned about, any of us who care about the future -- and all of us should, obviously. As a father of three children -- my wife and I are obviously very concerned about the world that our children and our grandchildren will inherit. All of us should share this concern, and all of us should be part of the solution.”
More recently, Mr. Arnott has been actively pushing for solutions on a number of important environmental issues.
He has been closely monitoring the situation surrounding Nestlé Waters’ water taking permits in Centre Wellington, Puslinch, and Erin.
He has called on the Government to ensure that all large volume water-taking permits are based on scientific evidence and will protect the quantity and quality of our groundwater for future generations. He maintains that any increase in water taking fees to be shared with local municipalities.
Mr. Arnott has also pushed for action from the Government to regulate the disposal of fill and other compromised soil. His Application for Review to Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner resulted in the Ministry of the Environment launching a major study of the issue and a new policy framework seeking to ensure that fill being dumped in rural Ontario is safe.
Mr. Arnott also introduced a resolution which was passed unanimously by the Legislature calling on the Government to establish an Ontario Green Legacy Programme, modelled on the County of Wellington’s Green Legacy Programme.
He believes we could massively expand the province’s tree planting efforts with the assistance of volunteers.
In addition to his responsibilities as Environment Critic, Mr. Arnott will also continue to serve as First Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House – an assistant Speaker position in which he presides over debates in the Legislature.
However, while Mr. Arnott will work hard to hold the Government accountable in his new critic role, he emphasized that his first priority continues to be the people of Wellington-Halton Hills.
“My first responsibility will always be to represent the people of Wellington-Halton Hills to the best of my abilities,” he said. “Their concerns will always be my number one priority.”
*************************
