Today’s families have the right to know when there are dangerous chemicals in their water, in their air, in their workplaces, their backyard, or even their children’s toys. That’s why the NDP is committed to establishing a Right-to-Know law that would make sure families know when they are being exposed to toxins in their day-to-day lives.

Everyday Ontarians are exposed to a soup of dangerous toxic chemicals at home, at work, in our neighbourhoods, and in our rivers and lakes – some of which are known to be cancer causing. Unfortunately, most families are in the dark about hazardous chemicals in their backyard since companies don’t have to tell communities what toxins they’re pumping into our environment. Over 40,000 facilities in Toronto alone don’t have to report annual pollution releases to the public. Industrial use, production and storage of chemicals go on every day in our neighbourhoods, but no one has to tell us.

The New Democrats will bring back the bill introduced last year and killed by the McGuinty Liberals. We’ll require manufacturers to label products that have known or suspected toxins and establish a ‘pollution inventory’ so working families know what pollution exists in their community. We’d also make sure fire departments would be informed of every hazardous substance in local businesses so that they would know whether dangerous chemicals were going into the air in case of fire.

Community Right to Know laws work. New York’s Community Right-To-Know Act resulted in major pollution prevention efforts among dry cleaners using known carcinogens.

By forcing companies to disclose their toxins, the NDP’s Right to Know law would force industries to clean up their act. Consumer product manufacturers will be motivated to change the way products are made, preventing hidden toxins and carcinogens coming into our homes and workplaces in the products we use every day. It’s part of the NDP’s comprehensive reform of toxics policy and legislation in Ontario in order to reduce the release of toxics into the environment and exposure to toxics in the workplace.

Today’s families deserve to know when they are exposed to danger. Dalton McGuinty got it wrong when he shut down the legislature and killed the NDP’s Right-to-Know bill. New Democrats will make it right with a law that ensures families know what toxins and other environmental hazards are in our food, air, ground and water.

We’ll protect our children’s health and environment:

• establish a Right-to-Know law that ensures families know what toxins and other environmental hazards are in our food, air, ground and water
• fight global warming by shutting down Ontario’s biggest polluter – the Nanticoke coal plant – by 2011, and investing in safe, green, renewable energy instead of nuclear mega-schemes
• fast-track public transit expansion – including new investments in light rail and GO Transit – to reduce greenhouse gases the quickest

Filed Under: Election 2007 | Protecting our environment