News Releases

Environmental Registry Now More Useful To Ontarians

(Toronto, March 22, 2001) - Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller announced today that the entire database of Ontario’s Environmental Registry, the Internet site listing government proposals and decisions about the environment, can now be downloaded for individual research use. “This development will make the Environmental Registry much more useful to the people of Ontario,” Commissioner Miller said. “People can have a complete copy of all Registry records for any given date, and the information can be used to create individual analyses and reports organized by location, for example, or by activity.”

Provincial ministries have to put environmental information on the Registry so people can comment on government and industry proposals before they become final decisions. The Registry is also a way of holding Ontario ministries accountable for the decisions they make about the environment. Commissioner Miller explained that by enabling users to download the Registry in its entirety, users carrying out research on the province’s environmental decisions will be able to sort or filter the Registry database file in a number of different ways:

• The media could set up a database program that would scan Registry information for keywords and topics, and then print out summaries for reporters.
• Businesses can keep on top of all proposals for approvals, policies and regulations that will have an effect on the business sector.
• Municipalities could set up a database program that would create reports about ministry permits, licences, or approvals for activities that could affect the environment within their municipal boundaries – whether, for instance, local businesses are asking a ministry for permission to release substances into the air or into a local river.
• Changes to Registry notices can be monitored and compared.
• Environmental organizations would be able to tell their members about significant pending proposals.

The process of notifying other members of an organization can also be automated, eliminating time-consuming manual scans and searches. In the past, searching and filtering could be done on the Registry information, but each search had to be done independently each day. Now the entire Environmental Registry can be downloaded in two database formats – a zipped text file or a zipped Microsoft Access file. The new system allows third parties to develop “push technology” – automatic notifications to their client groups on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Miller pointed out that downloading the Environmental Registry might be especially useful to universities. “Academics and students may wish to analyze the database to look at changes in Registry activity through time,” he said. “They may want to compare, for example, water uses and permits to take water in different parts of Ontario.”

To access the new download site, Miller said, people can visit the Environmental Commissioner’s site at www.eco.on.ca, click on Environmental Registry and then on the download link, and the download process will begin.

For more information, contact:
Liz Guccione, Communications Coordinator
Tel: (416) 325-3371
E-mail:
Or call our toll-free public inquiry line at 1-800-701-6454.

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