Advocacy and Outreach
Vision: That brownfield property reuse be the preferred solution by developers
“At the recent International Sites and Spills Expo (November 3-4, in Toronto), there were two presentations on soil management of interest to CBN members. The first was made by Al Durand, Chair of our Technical Advisory Committee, and the second by Andy Manahan of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario. You can view either of the presentations by clicking on the links below:
CBN and OREA Paper on Brownfields Taxation, May 2011
Canadian Brownfields Network, in conjunction with the Ontario Real Estate Association, have developed a paper outlining a tax measure to encourage revitalization of brownfield properties, and the benefits and application of such a measure. The paper also explains the implementation of a new tax class for brownfield properties that are under remediation.
Advocacy Letters to Government
The CBN has prepared and sent advocacy letters on behalf of various organizations.
Some examples are provided below:
- June 18, 2009 - CBN letter to The Premier of Ontario in regards to renewable energy for electricity and brownfield redevelopment.
- Response from The Premier of Ontario
- May 26, 2009 - CBN letter to the Ontario Minister of the Environment in regards to the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) Posting #010-4642 - Proposal for Amending Ontario Regulation 153/04. This letter is a follow-up to the April 27, 2009 meeting between the CBN and the Minister of the Environment (view meeting agenda)
- December 18, 2008 - CBN letter to the Province of Ontario in response to the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) Posting #010-4642 - Proposal for Amending Ontario Regulation 153/04
- February 20, 2008 - CBN letter to the Province of Ontario in response to Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) Regulation Proposal Notice # 010-2364 – Brownfields Regulation – Qualified Persons
- May 22, 2007 - Letter from the CBN to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in response to EBR posting #010-0149 - Proposed Update of Brownfield Soil and Groundwater Standards
- February 9, 2007 - Joint Submission from 16 organizations to Ontario Provincial Ministers to indicate support for the principles of the legislative changes outlined in the Province of Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights posting Proposal - Potential Components for Legislative Brownfield Reform
- Responses from the Premier and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
- September 20, 2006 - Joint Submission from 16 organizations to Ontario Provincial Ministers advocating brownfield redevelopment as a critical component of building strong, healthy and sustainable communities
- Responses from Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment, Finance and Municipal Affairs and Housing.
- November 25, 2004 - Letter from the CBN to the Minister of Finance with recommendations to Federal Government for budget submission that touch upon major barriers to brownfield redevelopment: financing of up-front costs for qualified brownfields through Amendment of the Income Tax Act and Removal of Federal Liens and Tax Arrears
- Responses from the Prime Minister, Minister of National Revenue, Alberta Minister of Finance, New Brunswick Minister of the Environment, Nova Scotia Minister of Finance, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, Ontario Minister of the Environment, Ontario Minister of Finance, Quebec Minister of the Environment and the City of Ottawa.
- March 10, 2004 - Letters from OCETA to the Prime Minister, Member of Parliament, and Ministry of Finance
- Response from the Prime Minister
- March 9, 2004 - Letters from EcoLog Information Resources Group to the Prime Minister, Member of Parliament, and Ministry of Finance
Advocacy Letters - Templates
To support some key recommendations made by the National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy in the National Brownfield Redevelopment
Strategy (Feb 10, 2003), we encourage you to sign and send letters of
support to our Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Member of Parliament
in your riding through regular mail (postage-free) or email.
Note: Given the number of e-mails that MP's receive, it may be more efficient to send the letters by mail (no postage necessary) as physical mail does receive higher priority over email.
Please download the following word document templates.
- Letter to the Hon. Stephen Harper
- Letter to the Hon. James Flaherty
- Letter to your Member of Parliament
How to Contact the Prime Minister
You can contact our Prime Minister through regular mail (postage-free) at
the following address:
Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2
Hon. Stephen Harper’s e-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
How to Contact your Member of Parliament
You can contact the Member of Parliament from your constituency, the cabinet
or the Minister of Finance (Hon. James Flaherty) through regular mail (postage-free)
at the following address:
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
Please identify yourself as a constituent when sending letters to individual MP's.
Hon. James Flaherty's e-mail: jflaherty@fin.gc.ca
Please use the website link provided to find a Member of Parliament or the cabinet and their email address (where available): Find your Member of Parliament using your Postal Code.