Public participation in environmental decisions in Ontario declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns the system failed to protect a core value at a time of crisis.
A statistical analysis by engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo showed direct intervention in land use decisions by the provincial government using a tool called Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) soared in the first 10 months after a state of emergency was declared in March 2020.
At the same time, public comments on changes to laws, regulations and policies impacting the environment significantly declined via an online portal created by the province to facilitate broad input on decisions.
“Public participation clearly suffered during this period,” said Nayyer Mirnasl, a research assistant for the Conflict Analysis Group at Waterloo. “Based on our statistical analysis, although consultation periods were longer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of comments each proposal received was significantly lower than before the pandemic.”
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