Report outlines top risks for province’s food crops, ecosystems, stormwater management

This article was written by Kristin Rushowy and was published in the Toronto Star on September 14, 2023.

Floods and drought are currently among the biggest climate change concerns in Ontario, threatening food crops, aquatic ecosystems and stormwater management, says a new report prepared for the provincial government.

The first Ontario Provincial Climate Change Impact Assessment, recently released online by the government, looked at the “risks and opportunities that stem from a changing climate,” and found that “overall, extreme heat, extreme precipitation and seasonal temperature-related impacts are the drivers of highest risks across Ontario.”

However, it adds, “wildfire, drought conditions and seasonal precipitation were also found to be particularly impactful for future time periods” in some areas of the province.

In a statement to the Star, a spokesperson for Environment Minister David Piccini said “the report concludes that Ontario has a robust capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and we will continue to make historic investments in critical infrastructure across our province.”

Spokesperson Daniel Strauss also said “Ontario has already begun the process of building climate resiliency through programs such as Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy, Community Wildfire Protection plans, Climate Risk and Resilience Assessments, and the Wetlands Conservation Partnership, which has already provided over $30 million in funding since 2020 to help protect and restore wetlands across the Great Lake Watershed.”

The province commissioned the assessment three years ago, with

The assessment was done by the non-profit Climate Risk Institute, which consulted with more than 140 experts and Indigenous groups

the work done by the nonprofit Climate Risk Institute, which consulted with more than 140 experts and Indigenous groups. The government received the report in January, but only released it last month.

New Democrat MPP Sandy Shaw, her party’s environment critic, said “the assessment makes clear what Ontarians already know — the climate crisis is here and it’s frightening. We need a government that takes real action to mitigate the impacts, protect people, and prevent further damage, instead of this deliberate neglect.”