New online tool to report incidents of pollution
May 24, 2021 | By Maryam Farag
A new online tool is being launched for the public to report incidents of pollution real-time from a smartphone.
The Ontario government’s digital solution allows users to upload photos and videos, or audio files, and receive real-time status updates on the incident after it has been reported.
“Our government takes environmental violations very seriously and has zero tolerance for illegal polluters — and we know the people of Ontario are eager to do their part to protect our environment. That’s why we made a commitment in our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan to develop digital solutions that will improve public reporting of pollution and ministry response times,” said Jeff Yurek, Minister, Environment, Conservation and Parks. “With your help, we can hold polluters accountable and ensure compliance with the environmental laws we have in place to protect our air, land and water for generations to come.”
Members of the public can visit ontario.ca/reportpollution and fill out a form to report if they witness:
- pollution (e.g. solvents, oil, fuels or chemicals) on land, in the water or air;
- industrial or commercial noise pollution;
- waste being dumped into the natural environment;
- improper disposal of commercial waste.
