Gord Miller (environmental commissioner)
| Gord Miller | |
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| Environmental Commissioner of Ontario | |
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In office February 1, 2000 – May 18, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Ivy Wile (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Dianne Saxe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 27, 1953 |
| Alma mater | University of Guelph |
Gord Miller (born March 27, 1953) was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Canada from February 1, 2000 to May 18, 2015. He was appointed to a five-year term in 2000 and was reappointed to this position in 2005 and 2010 for two consecutive five-year terms.
As environment commissioner, Miller issued strongly-worded reports annually, calling the province to account on its environmental commitments. Starting in 2008, he added special reports on greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation.
Miller did not shy away from direct criticism of government decisions and longstanding abuses in law. An early example was his direct condemnation of SLAPP lawsuits for their negative effect on public advocacy. Miller's reports very strongly supported "environmental activists" who argued "the practice is widespread in the development industry and used to pacify activists and environmentalists"[6], that is, silence them with fear of civil liability. Ontario passed an anti-SLAPP law in 2010.
In 2013 Miller called to public attention the fact that Ontario’s cabinet had allocated to itself, in the 2012 budget, the power to turn over public land to the exclusive control of private, multinational corporations. In a formal report Miller said that this, combined with cuts to staff and programs at Ministries of Natural Resources and the Environment, all "quietly and without public consultation", led to a situation with "no rules". Other actions were, Miller said, “gutting” protections for species at risk and that it was time for hydraulic fracturing regulation. [7]
In 2014 Miller warned that Ontario had done "very little" other than closing coal plants to meet its 2020 emissions targets, and had failed to build transit and other efficient infrastructure. [8]
On May 19, 2015, Miller sought the Green Party of Canada nomination for the seat of Guelph in the upcoming Canadian federal election, and on June 8, 2015, he was selected to run. He had gone to university there in 1977-79 and helped found the Ontario Public Interest Research Group in Guelph.
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