Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 12-15-2010 12:00 AM Toronto the Green: Pollution Probe and the Rise of the Canadian Environmental Movement Ryan Ernest O'Connor The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Alan MacEachern The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Ryan Ernest O'Connor 2010 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation O'Connor, Ryan Ernest, "Toronto the Green: Pollution Probe and the Rise of the Canadian Environmental Movement" (2010). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 57. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/57 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. 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TORONTO THE GREEN: POLLUTION PROBE AND THE RISE OF THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT (Spine title: Toronto the Green) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Ryan Ernest O‟Connor Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Ryan Ernest O‟Connor 2010 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Alan MacEachern Dr. Roger Hall ______________________________ Supervisory Committee Dr. George Warecki ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Dr. Finis Dunaway ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Dr. Jason Gilliland The thesis by Ryan Ernest O’Connor entitled: Toronto the Green: Pollution Probe and the Rise of the Canadian Environmental Movement is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date__________________________ _______________________________ Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS This dissertation utilizes the first fifteen years of Pollution Probe‟s history (1969- 1984) as a prism for examining the origins and development of environmental activism in Canada. The organization was pivotal in the evolution of environmentalist discourse and activism in Toronto, both through its own activities and its role in institution-building. Rooted in Toronto, Pollution Probe provides insight into the early history of the Canadian environmental movement, demonstrating the many ways that this movement differed from the one that took shape in the United States. As will be demonstrated, Pollution Probe was representative of the first wave of Canadian environmental non-governmental organizations [ENGOs] that were formed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unlike their American contemporaries, which evolved over a period of decades out of existing conservation organizations, Canadian ENGOs such as Pollution Probe appeared on the scene almost instantaneously. Furthermore, the Canadian organizations tended to be highly localized, in contrast to the larger, national ENGOs found in the United States. While the early Canadian ENGOs originally excelled by virtue of their focus on local pollution problems, the shift to more abstract, underlying problems was met with varying success. Ultimately, they were ill-equipped to address the larger, transnational issues that came to dominate the environmental agenda in the 1980s and 1990s. Pollution Probe; Environmental History; Environmental Movement, Canada; Social Movements, Canada iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Alan MacEachern, for his oversight of this project. He saw the potential for a dissertation on “green politics,” and provided considerable help and guidance along the way. I have also benefited from the help of many other faculty members at the University of Western Ontario. Roger Hall provided encouragement throughout my doctoral studies, and had a knack for opening doors that appeared to be firmly shut during the research stage. Robert Wardhaugh gave helpful advice on the writing process, and also reminded me to keep things in perspective. Robert MacDougall and Bill Turkel, two of my comps supervisors, opened my mind to new and novel ways of approaching history. I sincerely appreciate all of your help. Financial support from the University of Western Ontario, a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship, and several Ontario Graduate Scholarships, made this research possible. Staff at the University of Western Ontario‟s D.B. Weldon Library, particularly Elizabeth Mantz, and those at the Archives of Ontario, Library and Archives Canada, the City of Toronto Archives, and the University of Toronto Archives helped me find the research materials I needed. I greatly appreciate each person who granted permission for an interview, as well as those who granted access to private papers, namely Merle Chant, Denise Gosnell, Patty Chilton, and Bob Oliver. I am also thankful to all those who commented on chapter drafts or conference presentations, including Claire Campbell and the members of the Toronto Environmental History Reading Group. iv Research trips were made possible by friends and family who opened their homes to me, including Mike O‟Connor and Amanda Firth, Jenia O‟Connor and Mark Moore, Ryan MacDonald, and Debbie Hill. Friends within the history department have shared their valuable insight, provided advice, and made life more interesting. At the risk of exclusion I would like to thank Andrew Ross, Mark Eaton, Michelle Hamilton, Forrest Pass, Rollen Lee, Adrian Ciani, Jeremy Marks, and Bill Couchie. Most importantly I would like to thank my parents, George and Linda, for their support, as well as for instilling me with a love of learning and an appreciation for the natural world around us. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of Examination………………………................................. ii Abstract and Keywords……………………………………………….. iii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………… iv List of Appendices……………………………………………………. vii List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………. viii Chapter One: Introduction……………………………………………………. 1 Chapter Two: The Air of Death and the Origins of Pollution Probe………….. 30 Chapter Three: The Emergence of Pollution Probe…………………………... 85 Chapter Four: Growth and Retrenchment, 1970-1976……………………….. 144 Chapter Five: The Changing ENGO Landscape, 1977-1984………………… 221 Chapter Six: Conclusion……………………………………………………… 279 Appendices……………………………………………………………. 288 Bibliography…………………………………………………………... 289 Curriculum Vitae……………………………………………………… 304 vi LIST OF APPENDICES I Office of Research Ethics: Use of Human Subjects – Ethics Approval Notice.. 287 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACE Advisory Committee on Energy [Ontario] AECL Atomic Energy of Canada Limited AO Archives of Ontario AWL Algonquin Wildlands League CAHE Canadian Association on the Human Environment CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBCRL Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Reference Library CCAR Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain CCC Civilian Conservation Corps [United States] CELA Canadian Environmental Law Association CELRF Canadian Environmental Law Research Foundation CFB Canadian Forces Base COPE Council Organized to Protect the Environment CRTC Canadian Radio-Television Commission DEC Department of Environmental Conservation EAA Environmental Assessment Act [Ontario] EAC Ecology Action Centre [Halifax] EMR Department of Energy, Mines and Resources [Canada] ENGO Environmental Non-Governmental Organization EPA Environmental Protection Act ERCO Electric Reduction Company EYCC East York Conservation Centre GASP Group Action to Stop Pollution HBC Hudson‟s Bay Company IJC International Joint Commission LAC Library and Archives Canada LGP Larry Gosnell papers LIP Local Initiatives Program MTARC Metropolitan Toronto Airport Review Committee NALACO North American Life Assurance Company NFB National Film Board OAPEC Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries OEC Office of Energy Conservation [Canada] OFA Ontario Federation of Agriculture OMMRI Ontario Multi-Materials Recycling Incorporated OPCC Ontario Pollution Control Conference OSDA Ontario Soft Drink Association PPP Pollution Probe papers RAPA Richmond Anti-Pollution Association RCO Recycling Council of Ontario RIS Resource Integration Systems Ltd. SCC Sierra Club Canada SEAP Save the Environment from Atomic Pollution viii SPEC Scientific Pollution and Environmental Control Society, later Society Promoting Environmental Conservation UCC Upper Canada College UDIO Urban Development Institute Ontario UTA University of Toronto Archives WWFC World Wildlife Fund of Canada ZPGT Zero Population Growth-Toronto ix 1 Chapter One: Introduction One day in September 1969 Tony Barrett and Rob Mills found themselves in the lobby of the Toronto Telegram. Friends from their days at the prestigious Upper Canada College, the duo were now waiting patiently to meet the newspaper‟s owner-publisher, John Bassett, with an unusual proposal on behalf of Pollution Probe, the upstart environmental non-governmental organization [ENGO]. Pollution Probe had recently acquired the pro bono services of Vickers and Benson, Canada‟s leading advertising