Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Leading to healthier communities and economic prosperity through protecting Ontario’s air, land and water.
Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan
Environmental permissions
Land and soil
Conservation and parks
Maps
Other business resources
What we do
- Protect Ontario’s air, land, water, species at risk and their habitats
- Tackle climate change
- Manage the province’s parks and conservation reserves
- Maintain strong environmental protections while creating jobs
- Use the best available science and research to develop and deliver policies, legislation, regulations, standards, programs and services
- Enforce compliance with environmental laws
- Work with partner ministries, other governments, Indigenous partners and organizations, industry, stakeholders and the public
- Monitor and report to track environmental progress
Agencies, boards, commissions and other
The ministry is affiliated with the following independent agencies:
Board-governed agencies
- Ontario Clean Water Agency– Operational Enterprise
- Walkerton Clean Water Centre– Operational Service
Other entities (not provincial agencies)
- Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority
- 19 Source Protection Committees
- Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation
- Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation
Advisory agencies
- Council on Drinking Water Quality and Testing Standards
- Lake Simcoe Coordinating Committee
- Lake Simcoe Science Committee
- Ontario Parks Board of Directors (also known as Ontario Parks)
- Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario
- Species at Risk Program Advisory Committee
- Pesticides Advisory Committee
- Muskoka Watershed Advisory Group
Legislation
The ministry administers the following legislation:
- Adams Mine Lake Act, 2004
- Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018
- Capital Investment Plan Act, 1993
- Consolidated Hearings Act
- Clean Water Act, 2006
- Conservation Authorities Act
- Endangered Species Act, 2007
- English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Funding Act, 2017
- Environmental Assessment Act
- Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993
- Environmental Protection Act
- Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015
- Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008
- Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003
- Ministry of the Environment Act
- Ministry of Natural Resources Act
- Municipal Water and Sewage Transfer Act, 1997
- Nutrient Management Act, 2002
- Ontario Water Resources Act
- Pesticides Act
- Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006
- Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016
- Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002
- Toxics Reduction Act, 2009
- Waste Diversion Transition Act, 2016
- Water Opportunities Act, 2010
Updated: August 27, 2021
