Gord Miller (environmental commissioner)

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Gord Miller
Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, 2011.jpg
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
In office
February 1, 2000 – May 18, 2015
Preceded by (interim)
Succeeded by (interim)
Personal details
Born (1953-03-27) March 27, 1953 (age 68)
Political partyGreen (federal)
Ontario Green (provincial)
Other political
affiliations		Ontario PC (???-2015)
Conservative (2003-2015)
Alma materUniversity of Guelph

Gord Miller (born March 27, 1953) is a Canadian politician who was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, having served 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.[1]

Early life[]

Before his appointment, he worked for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for 14 years as a scientist, manager of training and development, and as a district manager. He also helped to set up the advocacy organization Ontario Public Interest Group Guelph.[2] Miller received an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1976 and a Master of Science degree in Plant ecology in 1978, both from the University of Guelph.[3]

Tenure as environment commissioner[]

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.[4]

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",[5][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]

Appointment controversy[]

Miller's sharp turn on the Harris government ended a longstanding controversy. Due to his two prior candidacies, Miller's initial appointment raised the perception by the NDP and Liberal caucuses that he was a Conservative partisan. Opposition parties at Queen's Park accused the Harris government of using its majority to name a Conservative as Ontario's environment commissioner.[9] Miller was subsequently re-appointed twice by two successive parliaments headed by Liberal governments,[1] whom he sharply criticized.

Politics[]

Miller was, in addition to a former federal and provincial PC candidate, the president of the federal Conservative riding association in Nipissing, home riding of then-Premier Mike Harris.[9]

On May 19, 2015, Miller sought the Green Party of Canada nomination for the seat of Guelph in the upcoming Canadian federal election,[10] and on June 8, 2015, he was selected to run.[11][12] He had gone to university there in 1977-79 and helped found the Ontario Public Interest Research Group in Guelph.[13]

Miller had also previously run for provincial Progressive Conservatives in 1995 and in 1997 for Jean Charest's federal Progressive Conservatives. He said the 2015 Conservative Party of Canada "is not like and doesn't represent the points of view" of those parties:[13] "We thought we were uniting the right, instead we united the wrong".[13]

Miller was considered a star candidate by local media. From his first public appearance he sharply criticized all the other parties for "committing to pursuing an economy based on bitumen from Alberta that we'll never be able to extract", echoing former Bank of Canada head Mark Carney's formal raising of this issue at the Financial Stability Board and Bank of England in 2014.[14][15] Miller also accused the government of "silencing" scientists and called Bill C-51 "a terrible piece of legislation."[16]

Electoral record[]

Federal[]

2019 Canadian federal election: Parry Sound—Muskoka
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Scott Aitchison 22,845 41.8 -1.50 $77,914.80
Liberal Trisha Cowie 16,615 30.4 -8.48 $71,267.46
Green Gord Miller 8,409 15.4 +8.18 $55,284.74
New Democratic Tom Young 6,417 11.7 +1.59 none listed
Independent Daniel Predie Jr 377 0.7 – none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 54,663 100.0
Total rejected ballots 392
Turnout 55,055 66.4
Eligible voters 82,930
Conservative hold Swing +3.49
Source: Elections Canada[17][18]
  • v
  • t
2015 Canadian federal election: Guelph
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Lloyd Longfield 34,303 49.10 +5.80 $213,387.97
Conservative Gloria Kovach 18,407 26.35 -6.52 $59,899.61
New Democratic Andrew Seagram 8,392 12.01 -4.72 $42,701.14
Green Gord Miller 7,909 11.32 +5.19 $222,034.20
Libertarian Alex Fekri 520 0.74 +0.42 $40.20
Marijuana Kornelis Klevering 193 0.28 -0.01 –
Communist Tristan Dineen 144 0.21 +0.04 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 69,868 100.00 – $239,632.86
Total rejected ballots 298 0.42 –
Turnout 70,166 73.27 –
Eligible voters 95,761
Liberal hold Swing +6.16
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]
1997 Canadian federal election: Nipissing
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Bob Wood 19,786 56.3 -6.5 –
Reform Laurie Kidd 7,390 21.0 +4.1 –
Progressive Conservative Gord Miller 5,666 16.1 -0.2 –
New Democratic Art Campbell 2,280 6.5 +3.2 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 35,122 100.0 – –
Total rejected ballots 231 0.7 –
Turnout 35,353 63.8 –
Eligible voters 55,422
Liberal hold Swing -6.5
Source: Elections Canada[21][22]

Provincial[]

1995 Ontario general election: Cochrane South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Gilles Bisson 12,114 50.48 +1.27
Progressive Conservative Gord Miller 6,587 27.45 +23.07
Liberal Jim Brown 4,958 20.66 -19.54
Independent Joel Vien 339 1.41 –
Total valid votes 23,098 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 192 0.83
Turnout 23,290 60.36
Eligible voters 38,584
New Democratic hold Swing +1.27
Source: Elections Ontario[23]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Miller reappointed as environmental commissioner | CTV News".
  2. ^ "Former Ontario Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller plans to run for Green Party in Guelph". 2015-05-20.
  3. ^ "Former Ontario environmental commissioner Gord Miller plans to run for Green Party in Guelph". 2015-05-19.
  4. ^ Oved, Marco (19 May 2015). "Former Ontario environment watchdog Gord Miller to run for Green Party". thestar.com. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  5. ^ Gray, Jeff (23 August 2012). "Ontario looks to smack down SLAPPs". theglobeandmail.com. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  6. ^ Benzie, Robert (June 4, 2013). "Nuisance lawsuits targeted by Ontario government". The Toronto Star. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Morrow, Adrian (October 10, 2013). "Ontario Liberals quietly loosened environmental rules, watchdog warns". Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Brennan, Richard (July 9, 2014). "Ontario warned it will miss 2020 emissions target". Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Opposition questions Gordon Miller's appointment as Environment Commissioner". CBC News. December 15, 1999.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Gord Miller to seek Green Party nomination in Ontario riding of Guelph | CBC News".
  11. ^ Shuttleworth, Joanne (2015-06-08). "Green party in Guelph makes it official, elects Gord Miller as candidate in federal election". The Hamilton Spectator.
  12. ^ "Guelph".
  13. ^ a b c "Former Ontario Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller plans to run for Green Party in Guelph". 2015-05-20.
  14. ^ Shankleman, Jessica (2014-10-13). "Mark Carney: Most fossil fuel reserves can't be burned". The Guardian.
  15. ^ "Mark Carney Slams Bankers, Warns Most of World's Oil Can't be Burned". 2014-10-16.
  16. ^ "Gord Miller's Green candidacy could shake up Guelph federal race". 2015-05-20.
  17. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  18. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  19. ^ Canada, Elections. "Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca.
  20. ^ Canada, Elections. "Error page". www.elections.ca.
  21. ^ "Thirty-sixth General Election 1997: Official Voting Results: Synopsis (List of candidates by electoral district and individual results)". Elections Canada. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  22. ^ "Thirty-sixth General Election 1997: Official Voting Results: Synopsis (Voting results, by electoral district)". Elections Canada. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  23. ^ "Summary of Valid Votes by Candidate". Elections Ontario.[permanent dead link]

External links[]

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