Ontario Making it Easier to Report Polluters

The Ontario government is launching a new user-friendly online tool so the public can conveniently report incidents of pollution in real-time from a smartphone. The new digital solution will mean photos and videos can be uploaded immediately so staff can respond quickly and effectively to keep communities safe.

“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 of the 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 simple form to report immediately 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

Using the tool, users can capture a wide range of information directly from the scene, including photographs, audio files and videos. They will also have the option of creating a secure login so they can receive real-time status updates on the incident after it has been reported.

Improving public reporting tools is just one of the ways Ontario is protecting our air, land and water, as committed to in the Made in Ontario Environment Plan.