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A number of amending regulations under the Planning Act were filed on March 5, 2018 and came into force on April 3, 2018. The changes to the regulations facilitate implementation of legislative changes made by the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017.

An amending regulation under the Planning Act was filed on March 5, 2018 and came into force on April 3, 2018. The regulation sets out new transition rules to deal with certain planning matters in process when the land use planning changes made by the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 took effect.

Following consultations, we are releasing the Food and Organic Waste Framework to prevent and reduce food and organic waste, rescue surplus food, collect and recover food and organic waste and support beneficial end-uses. This will help the province build a circular economy and fight climate change.

We have updated the Air Contaminants Benchmarks (ACB) list with new or updated screening levels for over 4,500 air contaminants.

We have a new policy to improve how we consider cumulative impacts from multiple air pollution sources. The policy applies to air emissions of benzene and benzo[a]pyrene in the Hamilton/Burlington area and benzene in the Sarnia/Corunna area.

#CycleON Action Plan 2.0 identifies initiatives to help achieve the vision of #CycleON: Ontario’s Cycling Strategy. Action Plan 2.0 contains 38 action items that will continue to invest in cycling infrastructure, increase education and awareness of cycling issues, and develop policies and programs to support cycling.

A province-wide cycling network including over 9,800km of cycling routes has been identified for long-term development. The network will connect municipal cycling routes and places of interest, promote recreational cycling and tourism in Ontario, and help prioritize future cycling investments in provincial highways.

We have changed when facilities have to review their toxic reduction plans. This will help to align the first two plan reviews with federal timelines and ensure facilities plan and report on current and relevant toxic substances. We also made a new regulation to provide more options to serve documents making it consistent with other regulations.

The Ministry has developed a final strategy – New Horizons: Ontario’s Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy. Feedback received through consultation on the draft strategy, as well as collaboration with the soil health working group have informed the development of the final strategy.

We have changed the boundaries of Stoco Fen Provincial Park to add about 150 hectares of land. The new area includes three parcels of land donated by Quinte Conservation and two small parcels of unopened road allowance. Increasing the size of the park will help protect this provincially significant wetland.

We made changes to modernize the pesticides licensing program and this allows us to provide online service delivery. This will make the program more efficient and transparent and will ensure protection of human health and the environment.

We have completed our public consultation on the plain language regulatory proposal relating to excess soil management.

We have finalized a Guide which will help municipalities and climate change practitioners to complete greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and develop community emissions reduction plans. The Guide supports actions on climate change, energy planning, the Growth Plan, 2017 policies, and Ontario's Five-Year Climate Change Action Plan, 2016-2020. 

We have made a decision to proceed with developing the Ontario voluntary carbon offsets program. Voluntary carbon offset credits are an additional mechanism to encourage greenhouse gas reductions (GHG) in Ontario beyond the coverage of the cap and trade program.

We have made changes to Ontario Regulation 245/97 to address compressed air energy storage activities in underground salt caverns.

We have finalized a protocol that sets out rules for creating greenhouse gas offset credits from the collection and destruction of ozone depleting substances.

We have finalized a protocol that sets out rules for creating greenhouse gas offset credits from the destruction of methane gas from active coal mine sites.

We have amended the renewable fuel regulations to increase blending requirements, improve the environmental performance of fuels, and recognize emerging low carbon fuel technologies.

A new regulation will make tire producers environmentally and financially responsible for recovering resources and reducing waste associated with the tires they supply in Ontario. This will further reduce the amount of tires lost to disposal, benefit our environment and economy, and support our efforts to fight climate change.

The amendment to the regulation will provide options for milk producers to use containers that are widely accepted in recycling programs or are managed through a deposit return program. This will provide flexibility to milk producers while still protecting the environment.