Whereas in recent years the Ministry of Environment has become increasingly more strict with regulations regarding landfill operations; and 

Whereas the goal of these strict regulations is to protect our environment; and 

Whereas this increase in regulations has resulted in many landfills being fenced, being open to the public for limited hours only, and charging user fees to patrons; and  

Whereas rural municipalities are seeing a steady increase in garbage being dumped on private and public lands such as highway and road ditches, as well as into bodies of water; and  

Whereas this “uncontrolled” disposal of garbage goes against the goal of protecting our environment; and 

Whereas there are limited RCMP resources available to control the illegal disposal of garbage on private and public lands; and 

Whereas the cost of enforcing littering regulations and the clean-up of this litter should not be borne by the municipalities who have already suffered the additional costs associated with landfill management; 

be it resolved that SARM lobby the Ministry of Environment to provide better enforcement of The Litter Control Act, as well as resources for the clean-up of the garbage being illegally dumped. 

Response from Honourable Nancy Heppner, Minister of Environment:

Achieving measurable success in enforcing The Litter Control Act and reducing unlawful dumping of garbage requires a cooperative approach by the public, industry, stakeholders and government at all levels. The Ministry of Environment recognizes that enhanced awareness and public encouragement to take a more responsive action will help prevent littering on public and private land.    

The ministry also undertakes enforcement action to address this issue and, where sufficient evidence is found, to issue a ticket or lay charges. The 24 hour, toll free 1-800-667-7561 Turn In Poacher [TIP] line is an excellent tool for the public to report littering activity. All TIP calls, regardless of the nature of the report are followed-up on as quickly as possible. In terms of funding cleanup of illegally dumped garbage, the Ministry of Environment has no dedicated funding for such activity, However, in the future, different sentencing options for littering related offences may be considered to aid in addressing this concern.