Delivered via E-mail & Regular Mail Re: Concerns about Poor Air Quality in Hamilton

The likely prevalence of this chemical in Hamilton’s low-income communities nearest the industrial facilities emitting it, raises questions of equity as to whether they are being disproportionately impacted by the implementation of Ontario’s environmental laws and policies. [...] A site-specific standard is approved as a deviation from the standard in the regulation and is designed to bring the company into compliance with the standard in the regulation over time. [...] In the interim, a site-specific standard will not be as protective of human health as the standard in the regulation itself. [...] Moreover, as noted above, many of the current site-specific standards for these facilities have expired at the end of last month without having achieved the objective of bringing companies back into compliance with the provincial air standard in the regulation. [...] In the interests of bringing this matter directly to your attention, CELA and Environment Hamilton request a meeting with your office to discuss our concerns with Ontario’s regulation of air quality and our suggestions for improvement of air quality for Ontarians in Hamilton and elsewhere.