In June 2000, Ontario Premier Mike Harris asked Valerie Gibbons, a former deputy Minister of several Ontario Government Ministries, to conduct a management review of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. The review was part of the government's response to the Walkerton disaster.
The report and its release are central elements of the government's efforts to manage the impact of Walkerton disaster on its political fortunes. In particular, the report lays the groundwork for an extensive restructuring of the Ministry of the Environment's functions which, along with the restructuring and potential privatization of the delivery of drinking water, will likely form the major elements of the government's response to the findings of the O'Connor Inquiry into the disaster. The report's contents are positioned to define the government's approach to environmental issues for the remainder of its current mandate, and if fully implemented would significantly limit the options of future governments, particularly in the area of the Ministry of the Environment's operational responsibilities.
This briefing document summarizes the contents of the Gibbons report and provides a suggested response to the report.
