June 30, 2025 • 43 mins
From protecting vast green spaces to building the Ontario of tomorrow, Environmental Minister Todd McCarthy takes us deep into the world of environmental governance in Canada's most populous province.
Stepping into the role of Ontario's Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks means balancing competing priorities while safeguarding the natural world we all depend on. "We all breathe the same air, depend on clean drinking water and the integrity of our land," McCarthy explains, as he reveals the surprising scope of his portfolio.
Did you know Ontario's landmass exceeds Spain and France combined, with two-thirds covered in forest? Or that the province has added 430,000 acres of protected green space since 2020? McCarthy paints a picture of a province rich in natural resources yet facing unprecedented growth pressures, with 2 million new residents in just three years. This tension between conservation and development emerges as the conversation's central theme.
McCarthy doesn't shy away from tough topics, addressing everything from invasive species management to bureaucratic delays in environmental permitting. "We need to build faster, but we're not going to trample on environmental protections," he insists, arguing that Ontario must "get out of its own way" to enable critical infrastructure while maintaining robust environmental standards. His perspective offers a window into how modern environmental governance navigates these competing demands.
The conversation turns practical as McCarthy discusses recent initiatives like Uxbridge Urban Park, describes the annual Healthy Parks Healthy People Day, and explains new legislative tools to protect species at risk. He also highlights broader policy shifts, including efforts to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers and reduce bureaucratic duplication across Canada.
Subscribe now to hear more revealing conversations with the decision-makers shaping our relationship with the natural world. Share your thoughts about environmental protection versus development in your community – we'd love to hear your perspective!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
How did a small-town sheet metal mechanic come to
build one of Canada's mosticonic fishing lodges?
I'm your host, steve Nitzwicky,and you'll find out about that
and a whole lot more on theOutdoor Journal Radio Network's
newest podcast, diaries of aLodge Owner.
But this podcast will be morethan that.
Every week on Diaries of aLodge Owner, I'm going to
(00:25):
introduce you to a ton of greatpeople, share their stories of
our trials, tribulations andinspirations, learn and have
plenty of laughs along the way.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Meanwhile we're sitting there bobbing along
trying to figure out how tocatch a bass and we both decided
one day we were going to be ontelevision doing a fishing show.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in
all those bass in the summertime, but that's might be for more
fishing than it was punching youso confidently you said hey.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Pat, have you ever eaten a drum?
Find Diaries of a Lodge Ownernow on Spotify, apple Podcasts
or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons
of our natural world becomeharder and harder to hear, but
they are still available tothose who know where to listen.
But they are still available tothose who know where to listen.
I'm Jerry Ouellette and I washonoured to serve as Ontario's
Minister of Natural Resources.
However, my journey into thewoods didn't come from politics.
(01:34):
Rather, it came from my time inthe bush and a mushroom.
In 2015, I was introduced tothe birch-hungry fungus known as
chaga, a tree conch withcenturies of medicinal
applications used by Indigenouspeoples all over the globe.
After nearly a decade ofharvest, use, testimonials and
(01:57):
research, my skepticism hasfaded to obsession and I now
spend my life dedicated toimproving the lives of others
through natural means.
But that's not what the show isabout.
My pursuit of this strangemushroom and my passion for the
outdoors has brought me to theplaces and around the people
that are shaped by our naturalworld.
(02:18):
On Outdoor Journal Radio'sUnder the Canopy podcast, I'm
going to take you along with meto see the places, meet the
people that will help you findyour outdoor passion and help
you live a life close to natureand under the canopy.
So join me today for anothergreat episode and hopefully we
(02:38):
can inspire a few more people tolive their lives under the
canopy.
To live their lives under thecanopy.
Okay, as always, we thank allour listeners throughout Canada,
ontario, the States all aroundthe world, switzerland, ghana,
down in Trinidad, tobago and, ofcourse, as always, if you have
any questions or want to hearany specific shows, let us know
(03:01):
and we'll do what we can to puta show together to give you what
you want to hear.
Now, this morning wasinteresting.
I was out again, as always,with my chocolate lab gunner and
I got to tell you my reishi iscoming up very nicely and, for
those that don't know, reishi isthe number two medicinal
mushroom in the world.
My wild mint patch and my wildstinging nettles are doing very
well, although I'm seeing a lotof probably animals going
(03:22):
through and knocking down.
The stinging nettles are doingvery well, although I'm seeing a
lot of probably animals goingthrough and knocking down the
stinging nettles because at ayoung age that they're at,
they're kind of small, but thepatch is still doing well and
the rhizomes are loving thegrowth in those areas.
Take on some new plant lifethere, which is good to see, and
spruce sprigs, as I talkedabout in last week's show.
(03:42):
They're pretty much just aboutdone by now.
So it's tough to get those goodspruce sprigs to make your
spruce honey or just to consumea lot of the spruce sprigs that
are out there.
But today we have a very specialguest Minister, the Honourable
Todd McCarthy.
Welcome to the program,minister.
Good to be here with you, gerry, absolutely so.
(04:03):
Minister, tell us for ourinternational listeners
essentially where you're riding.
Your electoral district isbasically from Toronto, because
we have a lot of listeners allaround the world.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Sure.
Well, of course, ontario, aprovince of 16 million people,
is the largest and most populousprovince in Canada of the 10
provinces and a foundingprovince at Confederation 1867.
The capital of Ontario isToronto.
Now my riding of Durham is theeast end of Durham region and
(04:36):
Durham region is the municipalregion immediately east of the
Toronto border and then I'm onthe east end of Durham region.
So within Durham region we havePickering, or
Pickering-Uxbridge, then Ajax,as we're going east or west to
east, pickering-uxbridge, ajax,whitby, oshawa, then Durham,
(04:58):
which is North Oshawa, a littlepiece of Uxbridge, scugog or
Port Perry, and then Claringtonor two-thirds of Clarington.
So ridings are not necessarilydivided on exactly on municipal
boundaries, sometimes they're alittle bit of several
municipalities.
In my case that's the reality.
And of course Durham, as I liketo say, although not far from
(05:21):
Toronto, we're 75 kilometers.
The western boundary of myriding is about 75 kilometers
from the seat of government atQueen's Park, but, and arguably
it's in commuting distance.
But it really represents the.
It's a microcosm of Ontario,because not only do I have
suburbia but I have a majorindustry, darlington, but I have
a major industry, darlington,our clean, reliable nuclear
(05:45):
energy plant in Darlington andby the lake.
Within Clarington we have, ofcourse, where the small modular
reactors the first of the fourare being built.
We have to the north, in Oshawa, ontario Tech University and
Durham College, so two greatpost-secondary institutions that
(06:06):
welcomes people from all overthe world, students from all
over the world, as well as fromDurham region and other parts of
Ontario and Canada.
We have Port Perry or Scugog,which includes a First Nations
community, the First Nations ofScugog Island, the Mississauga
First Nations of Scugog Island,and Port Perry is a smaller
(06:27):
municipality, and then, ofcourse, in between we have farms
and rural hamlets, so we reallydo have a little bit of
everything all contained withinthe riding of Durham.
Very much like Ontario is sodiverse, with large urban
centres, farms, farms and greatswaths of land.
I was just telling the studentsat our wonderful gathering today
(06:51):
at Good Shepherd CatholicSchool in Curtis we had a
special day dedicated towildlife.
It's called the Earth RangersAssembly and we had visitors in
and we had some wildlife thereSouth American reptile or lizard
, we had a bald eagle and we hadgreat instructors.
(07:14):
But I was reminding them thatOntario is home to four of the
five Great Lakes.
Ontario obviously is.
In terms of land size.
Ontario obviously is, in termsof land size, actually greater
than Spain and France combined.
To put it in perspective, wehave a million square kilometers
(07:35):
in Ontario and two thirds ofour province is forested.
So we and we, and we've added30,000 acres of green land to
the Greenlands Project,partnership, or the partnership
project, greenlands PartnershipProject.
We've added that since 2020, asa province, as a government,
430,000 additional acres ofgreen land, parks and nature
(07:56):
reserves and wildlife reservesand wetlands.
That alone is about three timesor more the size of the city of
Toronto, the province's capital.
So, to put that in perspective,Ontario is a big place with
lots of diversity in people andlots of biodiversity in terms of
plants and animals.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Yeah, a lot of people have no idea of the size and
the vastness Everybody thinks.
Well, not everybody.
A lot of individuals insouthern Ontario think you go to
northern Ontario when you hitnorth of Highway 7, and there's
a big difference from there.
So, minister, just now I wouldknow how, but give our listeners
an understanding of how doesone actually become a minister.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Well, we have responsible government in the
province of Ontario, which ismodeled on the Westminster model
of government inherited fromthe United Kingdom.
So, like the other provinces,we have a legislative assembly,
or parliament, and then thefederal government.
The federal level of governmenthas a parliament.
(08:59):
There is an upper house and alower house, like the House of
Commons and the House of Lords.
In England we have a House ofCommons and a Senate federally,
but each province and territoryhas an assembly.
That is what we call aunicameral legislative assembly,
meaning there isn't an upperhouse, senate or House of Lords,
it's just the legislativeassembly.
That body is an elected bodymade up of districts divided
(09:24):
across a province or territory.
In the case of Ontario, we have124 electoral districts, durham
being one of them, and tobecome a minister you have to be
elected in one of thoseelectoral districts.
And, as I think many of ourlisteners know, we have majority
or minority governments.
Right now we have a progressiveconservative majority
(09:46):
government, the thirdconsecutive one that's been
elected by the people of Ontario, which means we have not only
the most seats but a majority ofthe seats in the House.
In our case, we have 80 seatsof the 124.
So then there is the frontbench or the executive
councillor cabinet that ischosen from among the members
elected to the governmentbenches, and we have about 37
(10:11):
cabinet ministers of the 80.
One of our 80 is the speaker,the honourable donna skelly.
She's elected by all themembers and then the premier,
the first minister, who'selected in one of the Etobicoke
ridings.
He then makes recommendationsto the King's representative in
Ontario, the lieutenant governor, who then appoints those
(10:34):
nominated by the premier to bedesignated ministers of the
crown.
But again, we are responsibleto the people's house, we must
be elected in our owncommunities and we are in turn
accountable or responsible tothe elected house.
So while we have ourministerial duties and are part
of the executive branch ofgovernment hence the name
executive council or cabinet wealso are members of provincial
(10:56):
parliament and we take a seat inthe house and we would not be
able to be a minister, orrecommended to be a minister,
unless we were elected, unlesswe are elected and sit on the
government benches as part ofthe majority or largest number
of seats for a particular party,as part of the governing party.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yeah, a lot of individuals, particularly, I
guess, a lot of members thatlisten to us from the states,
wouldn't understand a lot ofthat process and I think you
kind of give us some goodinsight into what that process
would be.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now, minister, it's different.
The governor of a state, thepresident of the United States,
and her or his cabinet statelevel or federal level do not
sit in the elected body.
The president, governordirectly elected across the
board by the people.
But the cabinet does not sit inthe House, nor are they elected
.
So it is a true separation fromthe legislative process,
(11:47):
whereas here, in that sense it'snot so much the executive and
the legislative are separatebranches of government.
There's no question about it.
But we wear two hats asministers and we see this.
What was progress 150 years ago?
The idea that the lieutenantGovernor's Council isn't just
(12:07):
appointed by the LieutenantGovernor and divorced from the
elected House.
They are part and parcel ofthat.
They cannot be in the cabinetwithout being elected.
So that's what we callparliamentary democracy and
responsible government,different model.
I'm not saying one is betterthan the other, but this is what
we've inherited from the UK.
So it is different.
(12:27):
So we wear two hats, but theyare distinct and separate
branches of government executiveand legislative.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Right.
So, Minister, now you're theMinister of the Environment.
Maybe you can kind of give ussome, our listeners, some
insight of what happens in theMinistry of the Environment,
Like what sort of files do youwork on or what sort of things
do you end up dealing with, sothat people can get an
understanding, Because a lot ofpeople here are the minister of
the environment and of courseyou know you probably on a
regular basis get blamed,because you know, quite frankly,
(12:55):
it's probably all your faultthat my golf game on Wednesday
got cancelled because of therain, because you're the
minister of the environmentresponsible for that right.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Yeah, it's a, it's a good one.
I often lead with that as uh,as a joke, uh, when I'm at
events, uh, I did it a few timesthis week.
Whereas minister of theenvironment, conservation and
parks that is the full nameenvironment, conservation parks,
minister of the environment orthe minister of the environment
was created in 1972 by aprogressive conservative
government under bill Davis, andevery party that's ever
governed at Queen's Park hascontinued to have a minister of
the environment or a ministry, aminister of the environment,
(13:32):
and I do like to takeresponsibility for the good
weather and apologize for thelousy weather.
So this cold, wet spring inOntario I've been apologizing
for.
But today, as I look outdoors,it's a sunny day and I was
outside at a beekeeping andhoney farm and it was a
beautiful morning and I wasthere with members of our local
(13:54):
council.
So that felt good and I saidtoday I take responsibility and
credit for the good weather.
But at Environment it's a verylarge ministry and I'm well
supported by thousands ofministry officials and my staff
as well at the ministryEnvironment, conservation and
Parks is the name of it and it'sa very important mandate.
(14:17):
Of course, we all breathe thesame air, depend on clean
drinking water and the integrityof our land.
The main function is to keepour environment, land, air and
water quality strong, protected,clean.
That's the main mandate of theministry, and so that includes a
(14:38):
permitting process whenever youbuild anything of any kind
water systems of any kind,developments, housing
developments of any kind.
The ministry environment isvery much part and parcel of
making sure it's done right,done responsibly.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
And so you deal with a lot of the provincial parks,
then as well, correct?
Well, that's right.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
On the park side.
I touched on it earlier, but Iadminister all of the parks.
So, whether it's Algonquin Parkor Darlington Waterfront Park
in my riding, for example, orthe new Monarch Point Park that
was just opened a few years agounder my predecessor's watch,
minister Puccini Some parks thatare simply for camping, other
(15:25):
parks are for day visiting.
There's a whole wide range ofthem, and then, of course,
wildlife reserves are part of itas well, and forested parks and
anything you can think of.
That is all about the greatoutdoors, wetlands, private and
(15:48):
public agencies and partners whoare devoted to preserving and
protecting green space.
Ducks Unlimited is one suchorganization.
I work with other ministries,your former ministry, the
Ministry of Natural Resources.
We have a lot of crosspollination there, protecting
the integrity of our waterfronts, and obviously conservation
(16:13):
authorities are coming to myministry.
That was publicly announced.
So I'll be working with those36 agencies.
We work closely withmunicipalities, both regional
and local, to make sure that weprotect the integrity of our
water systems, maintain good airquality Wastewater management
(16:37):
is a very important part of whatwe manage as well and
responsible soil removal,working with things like
brownfields.
Where does it just sit idle?
Is there some responsible useand development that can be made
of brownfields.
What I mean by brownfieldswould be areas where there used
to be industrial or other typesof commercial activity.
(16:58):
There's ways that that land canbe redeployed responsibly
towards some other type ofdevelopment.
So it's really about balance,jerry.
That's the key.
I often say.
Being the Minister of theEnvironment, conservation Parks
means strong environmentalstewardship, strong
environmental oversight whilebuilding the Ontario of tomorrow
(17:18):
.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
Yeah, there's a lot of various agencies who would be
part of the deal with you on aregular basis from your
portfolio, whether it's theInvasive Species Program here in
Ontario, the centre that and Ijust had a we just did a
recording with the invasivespecies center on phragmites and
the impact there but there's alot of those agencies that
(17:40):
effectively deal with a lot ofyour ministry that we kind of
attract to our podcast.
But now, minister, you've gotsome new event or something
taking place in regards to parksup in Uxbridge.
Maybe you can enlighten uswhat's happening at the new
Uxbridge.
Yes, I will.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
I should have mentioned Mayor Dave Barton is
going to be disappointed in menow but with the help of
Minister Bethan Falvey mycolleague for the great riding
of Minister of Finance and alsothe MPP for Pickering Uxbridge
we opened recently the UxbridgeUrban Park, which is not only
great news for Uxbridge, it'sgreat news for all of Durham
(18:17):
region and areas around it.
It's a wonderful outdoorexpanse where one can go to hike
or to cycle.
It's beautiful for all seasonsof the year and it's accessible
from urban areas nearby.
So it's a really wonderfulmodel going forward and it's
(18:37):
part of what we've been able todo in terms of adding, you know,
hundreds of thousands of acresof green space for different
purposes and for very, veryimportant purposes, both now and
for future generations to enjoy.
So we're really proud of that.
But I was going to come back tosomething you mentioned the
invasive species.
Part of my mandate is dealingwith species and of course
(18:59):
there's invasive species likePhragmitis, which down at Second
Marsh in Oshawa the south partof Oshawa that's technically
outside by riding but veryimportant to me as part of
Durham region and within myministry where we made sure
there was a grant for the secondmarsh agency that runs that
(19:21):
area to responsibly rid itselfof that invasive species called
phragmitis, which is is thisgrassy type plant that could
really and was getting out ofcontrol and was consuming
everything around it.
It was bad for other plant lifeand bad for wildlife in the
area.
So you do have to take steps tocontrol what we call invasive
(19:41):
species in a responsible waythrough the Ministry of the
Environment.
But also then there's thespecies at risk, and I work with
the Committee on the Status ofSpecies at Risk of Ontario with
respect to an extensive list ofplant and animal species that
are at risk and need specialprotection.
Not only conservation andprotection, but also species
(20:04):
recovery Very important part ofmy mandate because it's all
about balance, as I told thechildren today at the Earth
Rangers Assembly.
You know Ontario has 60 millionpeople, but we live with
wildlife as well and we have tobe responsible when it comes to
protecting the habitats ofwildlife, protecting the
(20:25):
habitats of all species andespecially those at risk.
So we have a new piece oflegislation on that front called
the Species Conservation Act,which will, in my judgment,
increase investigative powerslike we've never seen before, to
give my environmentalcompliance officers more
authority than ever to inspectany site on a hunch, on the
(20:49):
basis of a negative track recordof a particular proponent, or
on a tip, or on a hunch on thebasis of a negative track record
of a particular proponent, oron a tip, or on a spot audit to
make sure that species at riskare protected from harms and
anyone who's attempting, eitherintentionally or negligently, to
harm species is stopped andprosecuted.
So that's an important part ofmy mandate as well as Minister
(21:13):
of Environment, conservation andParks.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
So whereabouts is this Uxbridge Urban Provincial
Park?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Because I know they have a big pond up.
So Uxbridge, if you want to, asI said, the northwest area of
my riding of Durham is where theUxbridge Urban Park actually
begins and it's a big, big swathof land, forested and
(21:42):
field-like, with beautifultrails, and it was the result of
a combination of a truepublic-private partnership,
whether it was donors of privateland and working with
government toward, first of all,creating this large green space
for the enjoyment of the entirecommunity now and in future
(22:02):
generations.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
So I suppose it's north and east of Uxbridge
proper as a town roughly Okay, Ijust wondered because I know,
when I had the privilege toserve as Minister of Natural
Resources, one of the thingsthat I was able to do is work
with at that time the Ministerof Finance was Minister Ecker
(22:24):
and Uxbridge was in her ridingand so we ran a kids fishing day
.
That took place at Heberdown'sConservation Area and I know the
last year we had it we had over5,000 in attendance.
But I wanted to do something.
In the Minister of Finance'swriting and I remember something
that I always said that if Iever get the chance to do
(22:45):
something, I'm going to do that.
And when I was just a I wasn'teven a teenager, I was preteen
there was a friend of myfather's who was on the police
force His name was Norm Treenwho took us up to the Uxbridge
Pond where they had actuallystocked the pond and you could
go fishing at the Uxbridge Pondand I said you know something?
We went up and fished it acouple times but never caught a
(23:07):
fish.
But just having the greatopportunity to do that was very
important.
So I always said that if I everget the chance, I'm going to do
the same for others.
So we started a kids fishingday at that Uxbridge Pond and it
went for years and I workedwith a group At that time.
It was Pickering Rod and GunClub.
They had over 200 rods andreels available on loan for kids
(23:29):
to go out.
They stocked the pond inconjunction with, at that time,
the Ministry of NaturalResources to make sure
everything was done, and I thinkCanadian Tire up there got
actively involved and it endedup being they called it a Huck
Finn Day in Uxbridge and peoplecame from all over and I just
packed the place and it wasgreat to see.
But when you start to get those, those activities and those
(23:51):
areas and people start to cometo them and it attracts them,
and so I'm sure this UxbridgeUrban Provincial Park is going
to do the same thing inattracting people to come up and
, like you mentioned abouthiking and things along those
lines.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Well, I think it certainly will.
It already has and it's gainingattention.
So many are coming, not onlywithin Durham region, outside
Durham region, but all oversouthern Ontario are coming out
and we need these green spacesbecause they're to be enjoyed
for all.
They're a trust for allOntarians and visitors to
(24:24):
Ontario to enjoy.
Yeah, and you know, jerry, yourecall a time in the past, but
these outdoor gatherings, theenjoyment of green space and the
great outdoors is such animportant part of life, and for
children in particular, and itinforms the memories of
childhood and I think itmotivates everyone to preserve
(24:46):
it for future generations.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Oh, absolutely Very, very important.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Hi everybody.
I'm Angelo Viola and I'm PeteBowman.
Now you might know us as thehosts of Canada's favorite
fishing show, but now we'rehosting a podcast.
That's right.
Every Thursday, Ang and I willbe right here in your ears
bringing you a brand new episodeof Outdoor Journal Radio.
Hmm, Now, what are we going totalk about for two hours every
week?
Well, you know there's going tobe a lot of fishing.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and
how to catch them, and they wereeasy to catch.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
We're going to be talking to people, facets of the
outdoors, from athletes.
All the other guys would gogolfing Me and Garton Turk and
all the Russians would gofishing To scientists.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Now that we're reforesting and letting things
breathe, it's the perfecttransmission environment for
line fishing.
Speaker 7 (25:44):
To chefs If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated
, you will taste it.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you
are.
Outdoor Journal Radio seeks toanswer the questions and tell
the stories of all those whoenjoy being outside.
Find us on Spotify, applePodcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
And now it's time for another testimonial for Chaga
Health and Wellness.
And now it's time for anothertestimonial for Chaga Health and
Wellness.
Okay, we're here in Lindsay,ontario, with Rusty, who's up
from California and visits usevery year, and Rusty has been a
faithful Chaga user for a longtime.
Rusty, maybe you can just tellus about your experience with
Chaga.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
Well, I feel that it has a significant impact on my
health and well-being.
I believe in what I'm doing.
I think that Jerry is veryknowledgeable on it.
If he says something, I takethat very seriously.
He has spent most of his life inthe health care field and
(26:50):
certainly knows what he'stalking about, and I like to be
around people like that becausethat's what keeps me healthy.
I'm 80 now and I'm going to tryto enjoy what I've created with
the motorcycle and one thing oranother, which will require
that I live for at least another10 years to get back what I've
(27:13):
invested in my health andwellness.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
So you're seeing a big benefit from it an overall
healthy environment and when yougo back to California next
month, you actually take quite abit with you back to California
, don't you?
Speaker 6 (27:28):
Oh yes, we're going to be there for eight months and
we don't want to run out, so wetake it back and we take it
every day and you know, like Isay, it's not a problem for me.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Right, so how do you take it, rusty?
Speaker 6 (27:49):
I put a teaspoon in my coffee each morning.
Okay, when I brew the coffee,yeah, and I put it in as the
coffee's brewing.
I put that in with it.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
Oh, very good.
Speaker 6 (27:59):
And I put a little bit of cinnamon in with it too,
right.
And then I sweeten my coffeebecause, take the bitterness, a
little bit of bitterness.
I use the chaga and maple mixthat you make up for those that
want to be well and stay well.
(28:19):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
Well, thanks very much.
We appreciate you taking thetime and sharing your chaga
experience with you, and we'llmake sure you have a safe trip
back to California.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
Sure enough, all right Okay.
Thank you, jerry.
Yeah, thanks, Rusty.
Thanks, sir, my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
We interrupt this program to bring you a special
offer from Chaga Health Wellness.
If you've listened this far andyou're still wondering about
this strange mushroom that Ikeep talking about and whether
you would benefit from it or not, I may have something of
interest to you.
To thank you for listening tothe show, I'm going to make
trying Chaga that much easier bygiving you a dollar off all our
(29:07):
Chaga products at checkout.
All you have to do is head overto our website,
chagahealthandwellnesscom, placea few items in the cart and
check out with the code CANOPYC-A-N-O-P-Y.
If you're new to Chaga, I'dhighly recommend the regular
Chaga tea.
This comes with 15 tea bags perpackage and each bag gives you
(29:30):
around five or six cups of tea.
Hey, thanks for listening Backto the episode.
Now you've got a big eventcoming up in July, I believe
Healthy Parks, healthy PeopleDay.
Maybe you can kind of enlightenus on a bit more about what
that is and how people can getinvolved with it.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Well, because my ministry is, as I said, aptly
named Environment, conservationand Parks.
All of that involves the greatoutdoors and being in the great
outdoors, whether you're hiking,cycling or just walking with
family, or walking your dog, orbeing with family or just a
little solitude.
It's all about physical fitnessand anyone will tell you that
(30:11):
you want to get off the couchand out of your house and it's
great to be able to walk yourneighborhood.
But it's even more fantastic tobe near a park, either walking
distance or a short drive away,to be able to truly enjoy the
great outdoors.
Shortly after I became actingenvironment minister, I know my
wife Kathy and I took ouryoungest son, jake, up to Awenda
(30:34):
Park for the day for abeautiful outdoor walk.
The fall colours were fantastic.
As I indicated, all of ourparks are beautiful all four
seasons of the year.
They all have their charms.
I'm particularly fond of fallin Ontario because of the
beautiful fall colours and thecrisp air, but there's nothing
like getting out for exercise, awalk, a jog, cycling with
(30:57):
family or friends or on your own, and really enjoying so many of
our parks in all seasons of theyear.
We have cross-country skiing,for example, in some of our
parks and in the summertime,even when it's hot, if you're
riding your bike, it's great toget that wind in your face and
your hair to cool off, and youcan always take shelter under
(31:20):
some beautiful trees if you'rejust resting or just taking a
short walk.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
I think, if I remember correctly, it's July
the 18th.
There's a day coming up whenyou're going to have access to
the parks in Ontario so that thepublic at large can enjoy it
for the day.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
That's right.
We really promote a park accessday and even on the days where
there's a fee, it's a verymodest fee.
We've never really raised theseto the point where it's
inaccessible and the fees reallyjust go to basic maintenance
and staffing of the park, whichyou need.
But you know another, anotherimportant thing I mentioned one
(32:01):
of my predecessors, ministerDave Pacini.
But Minister Andrea Kanjan,another one of my predecessors,
established through a privatemembers bill when she was
parliamentary assistant, the theannual litter collection day.
And this year, to mark I thinkit was the sixth anniversary, we
encouraged everyone acrossOntario, with their family and
friends and schools andcommunity groups, to go out and
(32:21):
just get the litter out of ourparks.
You know, when spring comes andthe snow melts, it's beautiful
to see everything greening up,but you do see some litter and
trash left behind.
So if everybody does their part, it's amazing how much we can
clean up litter from our parksand keep Ontario beautiful.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
Very good.
Well, Minister, what other sortof files do you're working on
or what are the big hot issuesnow?
I know in Western Canada allthe fires, forest fires and
things like that, but I don'tknow.
That would be more M&R sort ofan issue with the forest fires.
But certainly, if you're takingcredit for the weather, the
weather in the northwest part ofOntario, the rain helping out
(33:01):
there, makes a big difference.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Well, yes, look, I mean, we all have to do our part
to prevent forest fires andobviously come on board to help
with fighting forest fires andkeeping them under control.
Manitoba is going through adifficult time right now and
we're offering to lend a hand.
And you're right, it is an MNRMinistry of Natural Resources
issue our forest fires, but wealso have an associate minister
(33:24):
of forestry.
That's Kevin Holland, mikeHarris Jr, as your successor and
his dad's successor at MNR.
We also have an emergencymanagement minister, jill Dunlop
, because forest fires andpreventing them and dealing with
them are part of emergencymanagement.
So it's all hands on deck whenit comes to that.
But in terms of another issueand this is a very interesting
(33:46):
challenge is I touched on thatbalance of strong environmental
oversight, good environmentalstewardship and building the
Ontario of tomorrow?
I don't think we have to make achoice, but we're in a real
interesting historic time rightnow and I think what you're
seeing is parties of all stripeswho form government in this
(34:07):
country the NDP in BritishColumbia and in Manitoba, the
Liberal government in Ottawa,just elected under Prime
Minister Mark Carney, and ourprogressive Conservative
government here in Ontario.
We all have identified the needto strike that important
balance because we've got to getout of our own way.
We're not going to be able tobuild mines, extract critical
(34:32):
minerals, build attainablehousing for all, unless we find
that balance when it comes tomaking sure that we have timely,
reliable and transparentpermitting processes on the
environmental side.
Because if we don't get thatright, it shouldn't take years
to build a mine, it shouldn't.
(34:53):
You know, the ministryenvironment should not be a
ministry of.
I'll get back to you in threeyears about a particular permit
process.
We just cannot do that.
And you'll see, even the speechfrom the throne on May the 27th,
delivered from the Senate inOttawa by His Majesty the King,
talks about some very ambitioustargets of the new Liberal
(35:16):
government under Prime MinisterCarney to build faster.
And that's exactly what we'resaying as a progressive
conservative government inOntario.
We need to build faster, weneed to make sure that speed is
a priority, but we're not goingto trample on environmental
protections and we're not goingto trample on Indigenous duty to
(35:36):
consult under the constitution.
We're going to do all of it,but we can't do it when there's
endless delays, endlessduplication, endless red tape
and costs for no good reason.
That just cannot stand.
In fact, the Globe and Mail inFebruary, in their lead
editorial, talked about how doesCanada win the race for capital
(35:58):
?
And we have to win the race forcapital and encourage
investment within Canada, haveto win the race for capital and
encourage investment withinCanada and for those who want to
believe in Canada and Ontarioby investing here.
We've got to find the rightenergy mix.
We've got to make sure that webuild the ring of fire and the
roads to the ring of fire inpartnership with our Indigenous
(36:18):
communities and having regard tostrong environmental oversight,
but not needless, endlessdelays.
Not, I'll get back to you inthree years or five years or 10
years.
We won't be able to do anythingif we paralyze ourselves, if we
don't get out of our own way.
So I'm very happy to see thatPremier Ford as the chair of the
(36:39):
Council of the Federation thisyear, along with governments of
all parties, stripes, federaland provincial, we are together,
united, one Canadian economy,all pulling in the same
direction.
But I won't stand for needlessbureaucratic duplication or
bureaucratic delay.
I won't stand for it and I'llbe meeting with my counterparts,
(37:02):
the other ministers of theenvironment across the federal,
provincial and territorialgovernments in early July in the
Northwest Territories, and I'mvery much looking forward to
that.
We're meeting in YellowknifeVery good and it'll be a very
productive series of meetingsover several days.
We've got to be together onthis.
We've got to be together onthis.
(37:23):
We've got to put partisanshipaside and we've got to put
bureaucracy in its propercontext, because I mean, for
example, interprovincial tradebarriers.
Who knew that we didn't havetrue free trade across Canada?
We didn't.
That's got to stop and the goalis to have it end by July 1st.
We've got to build better,build faster, but build
(37:45):
responsibly.
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Yeah, when you go to the meeting, I'm sure that it'll
be like when I had theopportunity to serve as minister
, when I attended a number ofthe provincial natural resources
ministers and meetings in anumber of locations, and it sort
of ends up that they all kindof sit there and then they look
what's Ontario doing?
Because we're the lead we seemto be the lead in most things
(38:09):
because we've got the experienceand the staff out there who've
experienced it themselves andindividuals who can lead those
ministries, like yourself andall the other ministries or the
other provinces andjurisdictions, look up and say
what's Ontario doing and how arethey doing it?
You're right, I know that itwas always very important.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
That's been the case more often than not that Ontario
is the leader of confederation.
As Ontario goes, so goes Canada, but even more so the last year
, the last few months, thePremier of Ontario, the
Honourable Doug Ford, our greatleader, has really been Captain
Canada and, as Chair of theCouncil of Federation this year,
he has been leading the otherprovinces and territories and
(38:50):
the federal government towardthis new approach, which is a
united approach, endinginterprovincial trade barriers,
ending duplication, making surethat we, as I said, build faster
, build better, but buildresponsibly.
We all breathe the same air anddepend on clean drinking water
and the integrity of our lands.
That is not in doubt.
But there's no reason why wecan't have a healthy energy mix
(39:14):
that includes natural gas and apipeline and clean, reliable
nuclear energy, with our smallmodular reactor being built as a
first of four in a fleet atDarlington.
All of that has to be doneresponsibly, but it's got to be
done.
We've got to build homes morethan ever now.
We have a population that is 2million more.
(39:34):
In the last three years, sinceI was first elected in 2022,
ontario has added 2 millioncitizens and residents.
So we need to build the homes.
We need to build thetransportation corridors, we
need to build public transit.
We're doing it all and we needto do it with speed and, as I
said, I'm against theenvironment.
(39:55):
It's going to be done withstrong environmental oversight,
but I will not tolerate needlessdelay or duplication.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Yes, and absolutely ending the provincial trade
barriers, because a lot ofpeople don't realize that what
happens in Ontario you can'tsend it over to Quebec or
Manitoba and vice versa.
So we bring down those walls.
It'll open up our own markets,like it should be.
Free trade within Canada withour own provinces will be a good
thing.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
It sure will be, jerry, it sure will be, and it's
so essential.
And yeah, we have a differenttrading relationship right now,
currently with the United States, but I'm confident that it will
remain strong and we will havegreat trading relationships with
other nations.
But, boy, we better have a goodtrading relationship among our
provinces and territories.
And that's the first order ofbusiness in the next few weeks.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
Yep, Take care of the home before you move on.
Well, that's great, Minister.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to be on our podcast.
Now, how can people find outmore aspects about your ministry
and yourself, or where can theyget in touch with you?
Mind you, I know it's difficultbecause, like you said, you've
got more events to take placeand it's not as if you're off on
the weekend.
You're out doing events on theweekend and the riding, as
(41:03):
always.
Well, that's right so how canthey get in touch with you or
find out more details about theministry?
Speaker 3 (41:07):
Well, of course, if you go to the website, Ontario's
Ministry of the Environment,Conservation and Parks will tell
you about all that my ministrydoes.
Speaker 4 (41:16):
Well, thanks very much for taking the time out of
your busy schedule to be on thepodcast.
I very much appreciate it and Ithink you've enlightened a lot
of our listeners out there ofwhat it takes to be first of all
elected and find your areas andwhat a minister does.
I mean, there's so many thingsthat people just assume because
of what they read in the mediais the way it is, and it doesn't
really work like that at all.
People are out there likeyourself leadership, hard work,
(41:37):
making a difference in theprovince and making changes out
there under the canopy.
Thanks for all you do, minister, and thanks out there under the
canopy.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Thanks for all you do , minister, and thanks for being
on the podcast.
Honored to be on here with you,Jerry, I'm happy to come back
anytime, but thank you for thechat today.
I very much enjoyed it.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the
single largest database ofmuskie angling education
material anywhere in the world.
Speaker 7 (42:12):
Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this
amazing community and share itwith passionate anglers just
like you.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Thus the Ugly Pike podcast was born and quickly
grew to become one of the topfishing podcasts in North
America.
Speaker 7 (42:26):
Step into the world of angling adventures and
embrace the thrill of the catchwith the Ugly Pike Podcast.
Join us on our quest tounderstand what makes us
different as anglers and touncover what it takes to go
after the infamous fish of10,000 casts.
Speaker 5 (42:40):
The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing.
It's about creating atight-knit community of
passionate anglers who share thepodcasts.
How did a small-town sheet metal mechanic come to
build one of Canada's mosticonic fishing lodges?
I'm your host, steve Nitzwicky,and you'll find out about that
and a whole lot more on theOutdoor Journal Radio Network's
newest podcast, diaries of aLodge Owner.
But this podcast will be morethan that.
Every week on Diaries of aLodge Owner, I'm going to
(00:25):
introduce you to a ton of greatpeople, share their stories of
our trials, tribulations andinspirations, learn and have
plenty of laughs along the way.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Meanwhile we're sitting there bobbing along
trying to figure out how tocatch a bass and we both decided
one day we were going to be ontelevision doing a fishing show.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in
all those bass in the summertime, but that's might be for more
fishing than it was punching youso confidently you said hey.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Pat, have you ever eaten a drum?
Find Diaries of a Lodge Ownernow on Spotify, apple Podcasts
or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons
of our natural world becomeharder and harder to hear, but
they are still available tothose who know where to listen.
But they are still available tothose who know where to listen.
I'm Jerry Ouellette and I washonoured to serve as Ontario's
Minister of Natural Resources.
However, my journey into thewoods didn't come from politics.
(01:34):
Rather, it came from my time inthe bush and a mushroom.
In 2015, I was introduced tothe birch-hungry fungus known as
chaga, a tree conch withcenturies of medicinal
applications used by Indigenouspeoples all over the globe.
After nearly a decade ofharvest, use, testimonials and
(01:57):
research, my skepticism hasfaded to obsession and I now
spend my life dedicated toimproving the lives of others
through natural means.
But that's not what the show isabout.
My pursuit of this strangemushroom and my passion for the
outdoors has brought me to theplaces and around the people
that are shaped by our naturalworld.
(02:18):
On Outdoor Journal Radio'sUnder the Canopy podcast, I'm
going to take you along with meto see the places, meet the
people that will help you findyour outdoor passion and help
you live a life close to natureand under the canopy.
So join me today for anothergreat episode and hopefully we
(02:38):
can inspire a few more people tolive their lives under the
canopy.
To live their lives under thecanopy.
Okay, as always, we thank allour listeners throughout Canada,
ontario, the States all aroundthe world, switzerland, ghana,
down in Trinidad, tobago and, ofcourse, as always, if you have
any questions or want to hearany specific shows, let us know
(03:01):
and we'll do what we can to puta show together to give you what
you want to hear.
Now, this morning wasinteresting.
I was out again, as always,with my chocolate lab gunner and
I got to tell you my reishi iscoming up very nicely and, for
those that don't know, reishi isthe number two medicinal
mushroom in the world.
My wild mint patch and my wildstinging nettles are doing very
well, although I'm seeing a lotof probably animals going
(03:22):
through and knocking down.
The stinging nettles are doingvery well, although I'm seeing a
lot of probably animals goingthrough and knocking down the
stinging nettles because at ayoung age that they're at,
they're kind of small, but thepatch is still doing well and
the rhizomes are loving thegrowth in those areas.
Take on some new plant lifethere, which is good to see, and
spruce sprigs, as I talkedabout in last week's show.
(03:42):
They're pretty much just aboutdone by now.
So it's tough to get those goodspruce sprigs to make your
spruce honey or just to consumea lot of the spruce sprigs that
are out there.
But today we have a very specialguest Minister, the Honourable
Todd McCarthy.
Welcome to the program,minister.
Good to be here with you, gerry, absolutely so.
(04:03):
Minister, tell us for ourinternational listeners
essentially where you're riding.
Your electoral district isbasically from Toronto, because
we have a lot of listeners allaround the world.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Sure.
Well, of course, ontario, aprovince of 16 million people,
is the largest and most populousprovince in Canada of the 10
provinces and a foundingprovince at Confederation 1867.
The capital of Ontario isToronto.
Now my riding of Durham is theeast end of Durham region and
(04:36):
Durham region is the municipalregion immediately east of the
Toronto border and then I'm onthe east end of Durham region.
So within Durham region we havePickering, or
Pickering-Uxbridge, then Ajax,as we're going east or west to
east, pickering-uxbridge, ajax,whitby, oshawa, then Durham,
(04:58):
which is North Oshawa, a littlepiece of Uxbridge, scugog or
Port Perry, and then Claringtonor two-thirds of Clarington.
So ridings are not necessarilydivided on exactly on municipal
boundaries, sometimes they're alittle bit of several
municipalities.
In my case that's the reality.
And of course Durham, as I liketo say, although not far from
(05:21):
Toronto, we're 75 kilometers.
The western boundary of myriding is about 75 kilometers
from the seat of government atQueen's Park, but, and arguably
it's in commuting distance.
But it really represents the.
It's a microcosm of Ontario,because not only do I have
suburbia but I have a majorindustry, darlington, but I have
a major industry, darlington,our clean, reliable nuclear
(05:45):
energy plant in Darlington andby the lake.
Within Clarington we have, ofcourse, where the small modular
reactors the first of the fourare being built.
We have to the north, in Oshawa, ontario Tech University and
Durham College, so two greatpost-secondary institutions that
(06:06):
welcomes people from all overthe world, students from all
over the world, as well as fromDurham region and other parts of
Ontario and Canada.
We have Port Perry or Scugog,which includes a First Nations
community, the First Nations ofScugog Island, the Mississauga
First Nations of Scugog Island,and Port Perry is a smaller
(06:27):
municipality, and then, ofcourse, in between we have farms
and rural hamlets, so we reallydo have a little bit of
everything all contained withinthe riding of Durham.
Very much like Ontario is sodiverse, with large urban
centres, farms, farms and greatswaths of land.
I was just telling the studentsat our wonderful gathering today
(06:51):
at Good Shepherd CatholicSchool in Curtis we had a
special day dedicated towildlife.
It's called the Earth RangersAssembly and we had visitors in
and we had some wildlife thereSouth American reptile or lizard
, we had a bald eagle and we hadgreat instructors.
(07:14):
But I was reminding them thatOntario is home to four of the
five Great Lakes.
Ontario obviously is.
In terms of land size.
Ontario obviously is, in termsof land size, actually greater
than Spain and France combined.
To put it in perspective, wehave a million square kilometers
(07:35):
in Ontario and two thirds ofour province is forested.
So we and we, and we've added30,000 acres of green land to
the Greenlands Project,partnership, or the partnership
project, greenlands PartnershipProject.
We've added that since 2020, asa province, as a government,
430,000 additional acres ofgreen land, parks and nature
(07:56):
reserves and wildlife reservesand wetlands.
That alone is about three timesor more the size of the city of
Toronto, the province's capital.
So, to put that in perspective,Ontario is a big place with
lots of diversity in people andlots of biodiversity in terms of
plants and animals.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Yeah, a lot of people have no idea of the size and
the vastness Everybody thinks.
Well, not everybody.
A lot of individuals insouthern Ontario think you go to
northern Ontario when you hitnorth of Highway 7, and there's
a big difference from there.
So, minister, just now I wouldknow how, but give our listeners
an understanding of how doesone actually become a minister.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Well, we have responsible government in the
province of Ontario, which ismodeled on the Westminster model
of government inherited fromthe United Kingdom.
So, like the other provinces,we have a legislative assembly,
or parliament, and then thefederal government.
The federal level of governmenthas a parliament.
(08:59):
There is an upper house and alower house, like the House of
Commons and the House of Lords.
In England we have a House ofCommons and a Senate federally,
but each province and territoryhas an assembly.
That is what we call aunicameral legislative assembly,
meaning there isn't an upperhouse, senate or House of Lords,
it's just the legislativeassembly.
That body is an elected bodymade up of districts divided
(09:24):
across a province or territory.
In the case of Ontario, we have124 electoral districts, durham
being one of them, and tobecome a minister you have to be
elected in one of thoseelectoral districts.
And, as I think many of ourlisteners know, we have majority
or minority governments.
Right now we have a progressiveconservative majority
(09:46):
government, the thirdconsecutive one that's been
elected by the people of Ontario, which means we have not only
the most seats but a majority ofthe seats in the House.
In our case, we have 80 seatsof the 124.
So then there is the frontbench or the executive
councillor cabinet that ischosen from among the members
elected to the governmentbenches, and we have about 37
(10:11):
cabinet ministers of the 80.
One of our 80 is the speaker,the honourable donna skelly.
She's elected by all themembers and then the premier,
the first minister, who'selected in one of the Etobicoke
ridings.
He then makes recommendationsto the King's representative in
Ontario, the lieutenant governor, who then appoints those
(10:34):
nominated by the premier to bedesignated ministers of the
crown.
But again, we are responsibleto the people's house, we must
be elected in our owncommunities and we are in turn
accountable or responsible tothe elected house.
So while we have ourministerial duties and are part
of the executive branch ofgovernment hence the name
executive council or cabinet wealso are members of provincial
(10:56):
parliament and we take a seat inthe house and we would not be
able to be a minister, orrecommended to be a minister,
unless we were elected, unlesswe are elected and sit on the
government benches as part ofthe majority or largest number
of seats for a particular party,as part of the governing party.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yeah, a lot of individuals, particularly, I
guess, a lot of members thatlisten to us from the states,
wouldn't understand a lot ofthat process and I think you
kind of give us some goodinsight into what that process
would be.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now, minister, it's different.
The governor of a state, thepresident of the United States,
and her or his cabinet statelevel or federal level do not
sit in the elected body.
The president, governordirectly elected across the
board by the people.
But the cabinet does not sit inthe House, nor are they elected
.
So it is a true separation fromthe legislative process,
(11:47):
whereas here, in that sense it'snot so much the executive and
the legislative are separatebranches of government.
There's no question about it.
But we wear two hats asministers and we see this.
What was progress 150 years ago?
The idea that the lieutenantGovernor's Council isn't just
(12:07):
appointed by the LieutenantGovernor and divorced from the
elected House.
They are part and parcel ofthat.
They cannot be in the cabinetwithout being elected.
So that's what we callparliamentary democracy and
responsible government,different model.
I'm not saying one is betterthan the other, but this is what
we've inherited from the UK.
So it is different.
(12:27):
So we wear two hats, but theyare distinct and separate
branches of government executiveand legislative.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Right.
So, Minister, now you're theMinister of the Environment.
Maybe you can kind of give ussome, our listeners, some
insight of what happens in theMinistry of the Environment,
Like what sort of files do youwork on or what sort of things
do you end up dealing with, sothat people can get an
understanding, Because a lot ofpeople here are the minister of
the environment and of courseyou know you probably on a
regular basis get blamed,because you know, quite frankly,
(12:55):
it's probably all your faultthat my golf game on Wednesday
got cancelled because of therain, because you're the
minister of the environmentresponsible for that right.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Yeah, it's a, it's a good one.
I often lead with that as uh,as a joke, uh, when I'm at
events, uh, I did it a few timesthis week.
Whereas minister of theenvironment, conservation and
parks that is the full nameenvironment, conservation parks,
minister of the environment orthe minister of the environment
was created in 1972 by aprogressive conservative
government under bill Davis, andevery party that's ever
governed at Queen's Park hascontinued to have a minister of
the environment or a ministry, aminister of the environment,
(13:32):
and I do like to takeresponsibility for the good
weather and apologize for thelousy weather.
So this cold, wet spring inOntario I've been apologizing
for.
But today, as I look outdoors,it's a sunny day and I was
outside at a beekeeping andhoney farm and it was a
beautiful morning and I wasthere with members of our local
(13:54):
council.
So that felt good and I saidtoday I take responsibility and
credit for the good weather.
But at Environment it's a verylarge ministry and I'm well
supported by thousands ofministry officials and my staff
as well at the ministryEnvironment, conservation and
Parks is the name of it and it'sa very important mandate.
(14:17):
Of course, we all breathe thesame air, depend on clean
drinking water and the integrityof our land.
The main function is to keepour environment, land, air and
water quality strong, protected,clean.
That's the main mandate of theministry, and so that includes a
(14:38):
permitting process whenever youbuild anything of any kind
water systems of any kind,developments, housing
developments of any kind.
The ministry environment isvery much part and parcel of
making sure it's done right,done responsibly.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
And so you deal with a lot of the provincial parks,
then as well, correct?
Well, that's right.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
On the park side.
I touched on it earlier, but Iadminister all of the parks.
So, whether it's Algonquin Parkor Darlington Waterfront Park
in my riding, for example, orthe new Monarch Point Park that
was just opened a few years agounder my predecessor's watch,
minister Puccini Some parks thatare simply for camping, other
(15:25):
parks are for day visiting.
There's a whole wide range ofthem, and then, of course,
wildlife reserves are part of itas well, and forested parks and
anything you can think of.
That is all about the greatoutdoors, wetlands, private and
(15:48):
public agencies and partners whoare devoted to preserving and
protecting green space.
Ducks Unlimited is one suchorganization.
I work with other ministries,your former ministry, the
Ministry of Natural Resources.
We have a lot of crosspollination there, protecting
the integrity of our waterfronts, and obviously conservation
(16:13):
authorities are coming to myministry.
That was publicly announced.
So I'll be working with those36 agencies.
We work closely withmunicipalities, both regional
and local, to make sure that weprotect the integrity of our
water systems, maintain good airquality Wastewater management
(16:37):
is a very important part of whatwe manage as well and
responsible soil removal,working with things like
brownfields.
Where does it just sit idle?
Is there some responsible useand development that can be made
of brownfields.
What I mean by brownfieldswould be areas where there used
to be industrial or other typesof commercial activity.
(16:58):
There's ways that that land canbe redeployed responsibly
towards some other type ofdevelopment.
So it's really about balance,jerry.
That's the key.
I often say.
Being the Minister of theEnvironment, conservation Parks
means strong environmentalstewardship, strong
environmental oversight whilebuilding the Ontario of tomorrow
(17:18):
.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
Yeah, there's a lot of various agencies who would be
part of the deal with you on aregular basis from your
portfolio, whether it's theInvasive Species Program here in
Ontario, the centre that and Ijust had a we just did a
recording with the invasivespecies center on phragmites and
the impact there but there's alot of those agencies that
(17:40):
effectively deal with a lot ofyour ministry that we kind of
attract to our podcast.
But now, minister, you've gotsome new event or something
taking place in regards to parksup in Uxbridge.
Maybe you can enlighten uswhat's happening at the new
Uxbridge.
Yes, I will.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
I should have mentioned Mayor Dave Barton is
going to be disappointed in menow but with the help of
Minister Bethan Falvey mycolleague for the great riding
of Minister of Finance and alsothe MPP for Pickering Uxbridge
we opened recently the UxbridgeUrban Park, which is not only
great news for Uxbridge, it'sgreat news for all of Durham
(18:17):
region and areas around it.
It's a wonderful outdoorexpanse where one can go to hike
or to cycle.
It's beautiful for all seasonsof the year and it's accessible
from urban areas nearby.
So it's a really wonderfulmodel going forward and it's
(18:37):
part of what we've been able todo in terms of adding, you know,
hundreds of thousands of acresof green space for different
purposes and for very, veryimportant purposes, both now and
for future generations to enjoy.
So we're really proud of that.
But I was going to come back tosomething you mentioned the
invasive species.
Part of my mandate is dealingwith species and of course
(18:59):
there's invasive species likePhragmitis, which down at Second
Marsh in Oshawa the south partof Oshawa that's technically
outside by riding but veryimportant to me as part of
Durham region and within myministry where we made sure
there was a grant for the secondmarsh agency that runs that
(19:21):
area to responsibly rid itselfof that invasive species called
phragmitis, which is is thisgrassy type plant that could
really and was getting out ofcontrol and was consuming
everything around it.
It was bad for other plant lifeand bad for wildlife in the
area.
So you do have to take steps tocontrol what we call invasive
(19:41):
species in a responsible waythrough the Ministry of the
Environment.
But also then there's thespecies at risk, and I work with
the Committee on the Status ofSpecies at Risk of Ontario with
respect to an extensive list ofplant and animal species that
are at risk and need specialprotection.
Not only conservation andprotection, but also species
(20:04):
recovery Very important part ofmy mandate because it's all
about balance, as I told thechildren today at the Earth
Rangers Assembly.
You know Ontario has 60 millionpeople, but we live with
wildlife as well and we have tobe responsible when it comes to
protecting the habitats ofwildlife, protecting the
(20:25):
habitats of all species andespecially those at risk.
So we have a new piece oflegislation on that front called
the Species Conservation Act,which will, in my judgment,
increase investigative powerslike we've never seen before, to
give my environmentalcompliance officers more
authority than ever to inspectany site on a hunch, on the
(20:49):
basis of a negative track recordof a particular proponent, or
on a tip, or on a hunch on thebasis of a negative track record
of a particular proponent, oron a tip, or on a spot audit to
make sure that species at riskare protected from harms and
anyone who's attempting, eitherintentionally or negligently, to
harm species is stopped andprosecuted.
So that's an important part ofmy mandate as well as Minister
(21:13):
of Environment, conservation andParks.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
So whereabouts is this Uxbridge Urban Provincial
Park?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Because I know they have a big pond up.
So Uxbridge, if you want to, asI said, the northwest area of
my riding of Durham is where theUxbridge Urban Park actually
begins and it's a big, big swathof land, forested and
(21:42):
field-like, with beautifultrails, and it was the result of
a combination of a truepublic-private partnership,
whether it was donors of privateland and working with
government toward, first of all,creating this large green space
for the enjoyment of the entirecommunity now and in future
(22:02):
generations.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
So I suppose it's north and east of Uxbridge
proper as a town roughly Okay, Ijust wondered because I know,
when I had the privilege toserve as Minister of Natural
Resources, one of the thingsthat I was able to do is work
with at that time the Ministerof Finance was Minister Ecker
(22:24):
and Uxbridge was in her ridingand so we ran a kids fishing day
.
That took place at Heberdown'sConservation Area and I know the
last year we had it we had over5,000 in attendance.
But I wanted to do something.
In the Minister of Finance'swriting and I remember something
that I always said that if Iever get the chance to do
(22:45):
something, I'm going to do that.
And when I was just a I wasn'teven a teenager, I was preteen
there was a friend of myfather's who was on the police
force His name was Norm Treenwho took us up to the Uxbridge
Pond where they had actuallystocked the pond and you could
go fishing at the Uxbridge Pondand I said you know something?
We went up and fished it acouple times but never caught a
(23:07):
fish.
But just having the greatopportunity to do that was very
important.
So I always said that if I everget the chance, I'm going to do
the same for others.
So we started a kids fishingday at that Uxbridge Pond and it
went for years and I workedwith a group At that time.
It was Pickering Rod and GunClub.
They had over 200 rods andreels available on loan for kids
(23:29):
to go out.
They stocked the pond inconjunction with, at that time,
the Ministry of NaturalResources to make sure
everything was done, and I thinkCanadian Tire up there got
actively involved and it endedup being they called it a Huck
Finn Day in Uxbridge and peoplecame from all over and I just
packed the place and it wasgreat to see.
But when you start to get those, those activities and those
(23:51):
areas and people start to cometo them and it attracts them,
and so I'm sure this UxbridgeUrban Provincial Park is going
to do the same thing inattracting people to come up and
, like you mentioned abouthiking and things along those
lines.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Well, I think it certainly will.
It already has and it's gainingattention.
So many are coming, not onlywithin Durham region, outside
Durham region, but all oversouthern Ontario are coming out
and we need these green spacesbecause they're to be enjoyed
for all.
They're a trust for allOntarians and visitors to
(24:24):
Ontario to enjoy.
Yeah, and you know, jerry, yourecall a time in the past, but
these outdoor gatherings, theenjoyment of green space and the
great outdoors is such animportant part of life, and for
children in particular, and itinforms the memories of
childhood and I think itmotivates everyone to preserve
(24:46):
it for future generations.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Oh, absolutely Very, very important.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Hi everybody.
I'm Angelo Viola and I'm PeteBowman.
Now you might know us as thehosts of Canada's favorite
fishing show, but now we'rehosting a podcast.
That's right.
Every Thursday, Ang and I willbe right here in your ears
bringing you a brand new episodeof Outdoor Journal Radio.
Hmm, Now, what are we going totalk about for two hours every
week?
Well, you know there's going tobe a lot of fishing.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and
how to catch them, and they wereeasy to catch.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
We're going to be talking to people, facets of the
outdoors, from athletes.
All the other guys would gogolfing Me and Garton Turk and
all the Russians would gofishing To scientists.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Now that we're reforesting and letting things
breathe, it's the perfecttransmission environment for
line fishing.
Speaker 7 (25:44):
To chefs If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated
, you will taste it.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you
are.
Outdoor Journal Radio seeks toanswer the questions and tell
the stories of all those whoenjoy being outside.
Find us on Spotify, applePodcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
And now it's time for another testimonial for Chaga
Health and Wellness.
And now it's time for anothertestimonial for Chaga Health and
Wellness.
Okay, we're here in Lindsay,ontario, with Rusty, who's up
from California and visits usevery year, and Rusty has been a
faithful Chaga user for a longtime.
Rusty, maybe you can just tellus about your experience with
Chaga.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
Well, I feel that it has a significant impact on my
health and well-being.
I believe in what I'm doing.
I think that Jerry is veryknowledgeable on it.
If he says something, I takethat very seriously.
He has spent most of his life inthe health care field and
(26:50):
certainly knows what he'stalking about, and I like to be
around people like that becausethat's what keeps me healthy.
I'm 80 now and I'm going to tryto enjoy what I've created with
the motorcycle and one thing oranother, which will require
that I live for at least another10 years to get back what I've
(27:13):
invested in my health andwellness.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
So you're seeing a big benefit from it an overall
healthy environment and when yougo back to California next
month, you actually take quite abit with you back to California
, don't you?
Speaker 6 (27:28):
Oh yes, we're going to be there for eight months and
we don't want to run out, so wetake it back and we take it
every day and you know, like Isay, it's not a problem for me.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Right, so how do you take it, rusty?
Speaker 6 (27:49):
I put a teaspoon in my coffee each morning.
Okay, when I brew the coffee,yeah, and I put it in as the
coffee's brewing.
I put that in with it.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
Oh, very good.
Speaker 6 (27:59):
And I put a little bit of cinnamon in with it too,
right.
And then I sweeten my coffeebecause, take the bitterness, a
little bit of bitterness.
I use the chaga and maple mixthat you make up for those that
want to be well and stay well.
(28:19):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
Well, thanks very much.
We appreciate you taking thetime and sharing your chaga
experience with you, and we'llmake sure you have a safe trip
back to California.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
Sure enough, all right Okay.
Thank you, jerry.
Yeah, thanks, Rusty.
Thanks, sir, my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
We interrupt this program to bring you a special
offer from Chaga Health Wellness.
If you've listened this far andyou're still wondering about
this strange mushroom that Ikeep talking about and whether
you would benefit from it or not, I may have something of
interest to you.
To thank you for listening tothe show, I'm going to make
trying Chaga that much easier bygiving you a dollar off all our
(29:07):
Chaga products at checkout.
All you have to do is head overto our website,
chagahealthandwellnesscom, placea few items in the cart and
check out with the code CANOPYC-A-N-O-P-Y.
If you're new to Chaga, I'dhighly recommend the regular
Chaga tea.
This comes with 15 tea bags perpackage and each bag gives you
(29:30):
around five or six cups of tea.
Hey, thanks for listening Backto the episode.
Now you've got a big eventcoming up in July, I believe
Healthy Parks, healthy PeopleDay.
Maybe you can kind of enlightenus on a bit more about what
that is and how people can getinvolved with it.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Well, because my ministry is, as I said, aptly
named Environment, conservationand Parks.
All of that involves the greatoutdoors and being in the great
outdoors, whether you're hiking,cycling or just walking with
family, or walking your dog, orbeing with family or just a
little solitude.
It's all about physical fitnessand anyone will tell you that
(30:11):
you want to get off the couchand out of your house and it's
great to be able to walk yourneighborhood.
But it's even more fantastic tobe near a park, either walking
distance or a short drive away,to be able to truly enjoy the
great outdoors.
Shortly after I became actingenvironment minister, I know my
wife Kathy and I took ouryoungest son, jake, up to Awenda
(30:34):
Park for the day for abeautiful outdoor walk.
The fall colours were fantastic.
As I indicated, all of ourparks are beautiful all four
seasons of the year.
They all have their charms.
I'm particularly fond of fallin Ontario because of the
beautiful fall colours and thecrisp air, but there's nothing
like getting out for exercise, awalk, a jog, cycling with
(30:57):
family or friends or on your own, and really enjoying so many of
our parks in all seasons of theyear.
We have cross-country skiing,for example, in some of our
parks and in the summertime,even when it's hot, if you're
riding your bike, it's great toget that wind in your face and
your hair to cool off, and youcan always take shelter under
(31:20):
some beautiful trees if you'rejust resting or just taking a
short walk.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
I think, if I remember correctly, it's July
the 18th.
There's a day coming up whenyou're going to have access to
the parks in Ontario so that thepublic at large can enjoy it
for the day.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
That's right.
We really promote a park accessday and even on the days where
there's a fee, it's a verymodest fee.
We've never really raised theseto the point where it's
inaccessible and the fees reallyjust go to basic maintenance
and staffing of the park, whichyou need.
But you know another, anotherimportant thing I mentioned one
(32:01):
of my predecessors, ministerDave Pacini.
But Minister Andrea Kanjan,another one of my predecessors,
established through a privatemembers bill when she was
parliamentary assistant, the theannual litter collection day.
And this year, to mark I thinkit was the sixth anniversary, we
encouraged everyone acrossOntario, with their family and
friends and schools andcommunity groups, to go out and
(32:21):
just get the litter out of ourparks.
You know, when spring comes andthe snow melts, it's beautiful
to see everything greening up,but you do see some litter and
trash left behind.
So if everybody does their part, it's amazing how much we can
clean up litter from our parksand keep Ontario beautiful.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
Very good.
Well, Minister, what other sortof files do you're working on
or what are the big hot issuesnow?
I know in Western Canada allthe fires, forest fires and
things like that, but I don'tknow.
That would be more M&R sort ofan issue with the forest fires.
But certainly, if you're takingcredit for the weather, the
weather in the northwest part ofOntario, the rain helping out
(33:01):
there, makes a big difference.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Well, yes, look, I mean, we all have to do our part
to prevent forest fires andobviously come on board to help
with fighting forest fires andkeeping them under control.
Manitoba is going through adifficult time right now and
we're offering to lend a hand.
And you're right, it is an MNRMinistry of Natural Resources
issue our forest fires, but wealso have an associate minister
(33:24):
of forestry.
That's Kevin Holland, mikeHarris Jr, as your successor and
his dad's successor at MNR.
We also have an emergencymanagement minister, jill Dunlop
, because forest fires andpreventing them and dealing with
them are part of emergencymanagement.
So it's all hands on deck whenit comes to that.
But in terms of another issueand this is a very interesting
(33:46):
challenge is I touched on thatbalance of strong environmental
oversight, good environmentalstewardship and building the
Ontario of tomorrow?
I don't think we have to make achoice, but we're in a real
interesting historic time rightnow and I think what you're
seeing is parties of all stripeswho form government in this
(34:07):
country the NDP in BritishColumbia and in Manitoba, the
Liberal government in Ottawa,just elected under Prime
Minister Mark Carney, and ourprogressive Conservative
government here in Ontario.
We all have identified the needto strike that important
balance because we've got to getout of our own way.
We're not going to be able tobuild mines, extract critical
(34:32):
minerals, build attainablehousing for all, unless we find
that balance when it comes tomaking sure that we have timely,
reliable and transparentpermitting processes on the
environmental side.
Because if we don't get thatright, it shouldn't take years
to build a mine, it shouldn't.
(34:53):
You know, the ministryenvironment should not be a
ministry of.
I'll get back to you in threeyears about a particular permit
process.
We just cannot do that.
And you'll see, even the speechfrom the throne on May the 27th,
delivered from the Senate inOttawa by His Majesty the King,
talks about some very ambitioustargets of the new Liberal
(35:16):
government under Prime MinisterCarney to build faster.
And that's exactly what we'resaying as a progressive
conservative government inOntario.
We need to build faster, weneed to make sure that speed is
a priority, but we're not goingto trample on environmental
protections and we're not goingto trample on Indigenous duty to
(35:36):
consult under the constitution.
We're going to do all of it,but we can't do it when there's
endless delays, endlessduplication, endless red tape
and costs for no good reason.
That just cannot stand.
In fact, the Globe and Mail inFebruary, in their lead
editorial, talked about how doesCanada win the race for capital
(35:58):
?
And we have to win the race forcapital and encourage
investment within Canada, haveto win the race for capital and
encourage investment withinCanada and for those who want to
believe in Canada and Ontarioby investing here.
We've got to find the rightenergy mix.
We've got to make sure that webuild the ring of fire and the
roads to the ring of fire inpartnership with our Indigenous
(36:18):
communities and having regard tostrong environmental oversight,
but not needless, endlessdelays.
Not, I'll get back to you inthree years or five years or 10
years.
We won't be able to do anythingif we paralyze ourselves, if we
don't get out of our own way.
So I'm very happy to see thatPremier Ford as the chair of the
(36:39):
Council of the Federation thisyear, along with governments of
all parties, stripes, federaland provincial, we are together,
united, one Canadian economy,all pulling in the same
direction.
But I won't stand for needlessbureaucratic duplication or
bureaucratic delay.
I won't stand for it and I'llbe meeting with my counterparts,
(37:02):
the other ministers of theenvironment across the federal,
provincial and territorialgovernments in early July in the
Northwest Territories, and I'mvery much looking forward to
that.
We're meeting in YellowknifeVery good and it'll be a very
productive series of meetingsover several days.
We've got to be together onthis.
We've got to be together onthis.
(37:23):
We've got to put partisanshipaside and we've got to put
bureaucracy in its propercontext, because I mean, for
example, interprovincial tradebarriers.
Who knew that we didn't havetrue free trade across Canada?
We didn't.
That's got to stop and the goalis to have it end by July 1st.
We've got to build better,build faster, but build
(37:45):
responsibly.
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Yeah, when you go to the meeting, I'm sure that it'll
be like when I had theopportunity to serve as minister
, when I attended a number ofthe provincial natural resources
ministers and meetings in anumber of locations, and it sort
of ends up that they all kindof sit there and then they look
what's Ontario doing?
Because we're the lead we seemto be the lead in most things
(38:09):
because we've got the experienceand the staff out there who've
experienced it themselves andindividuals who can lead those
ministries, like yourself andall the other ministries or the
other provinces andjurisdictions, look up and say
what's Ontario doing and how arethey doing it?
You're right, I know that itwas always very important.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
That's been the case more often than not that Ontario
is the leader of confederation.
As Ontario goes, so goes Canada, but even more so the last year
, the last few months, thePremier of Ontario, the
Honourable Doug Ford, our greatleader, has really been Captain
Canada and, as Chair of theCouncil of Federation this year,
he has been leading the otherprovinces and territories and
(38:50):
the federal government towardthis new approach, which is a
united approach, endinginterprovincial trade barriers,
ending duplication, making surethat we, as I said, build faster
, build better, but buildresponsibly.
We all breathe the same air anddepend on clean drinking water
and the integrity of our lands.
That is not in doubt.
But there's no reason why wecan't have a healthy energy mix
(39:14):
that includes natural gas and apipeline and clean, reliable
nuclear energy, with our smallmodular reactor being built as a
first of four in a fleet atDarlington.
All of that has to be doneresponsibly, but it's got to be
done.
We've got to build homes morethan ever now.
We have a population that is 2million more.
(39:34):
In the last three years, sinceI was first elected in 2022,
ontario has added 2 millioncitizens and residents.
So we need to build the homes.
We need to build thetransportation corridors, we
need to build public transit.
We're doing it all and we needto do it with speed and, as I
said, I'm against theenvironment.
(39:55):
It's going to be done withstrong environmental oversight,
but I will not tolerate needlessdelay or duplication.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Yes, and absolutely ending the provincial trade
barriers, because a lot ofpeople don't realize that what
happens in Ontario you can'tsend it over to Quebec or
Manitoba and vice versa.
So we bring down those walls.
It'll open up our own markets,like it should be.
Free trade within Canada withour own provinces will be a good
thing.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
It sure will be, jerry, it sure will be, and it's
so essential.
And yeah, we have a differenttrading relationship right now,
currently with the United States, but I'm confident that it will
remain strong and we will havegreat trading relationships with
other nations.
But, boy, we better have a goodtrading relationship among our
provinces and territories.
And that's the first order ofbusiness in the next few weeks.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
Yep, Take care of the home before you move on.
Well, that's great, Minister.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to be on our podcast.
Now, how can people find outmore aspects about your ministry
and yourself, or where can theyget in touch with you?
Mind you, I know it's difficultbecause, like you said, you've
got more events to take placeand it's not as if you're off on
the weekend.
You're out doing events on theweekend and the riding, as
(41:03):
always.
Well, that's right so how canthey get in touch with you or
find out more details about theministry?
Speaker 3 (41:07):
Well, of course, if you go to the website, Ontario's
Ministry of the Environment,Conservation and Parks will tell
you about all that my ministrydoes.
Speaker 4 (41:16):
Well, thanks very much for taking the time out of
your busy schedule to be on thepodcast.
I very much appreciate it and Ithink you've enlightened a lot
of our listeners out there ofwhat it takes to be first of all
elected and find your areas andwhat a minister does.
I mean, there's so many thingsthat people just assume because
of what they read in the mediais the way it is, and it doesn't
really work like that at all.
People are out there likeyourself leadership, hard work,
(41:37):
making a difference in theprovince and making changes out
there under the canopy.
Thanks for all you do, minister, and thanks out there under the
canopy.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Thanks for all you do , minister, and thanks for being
on the podcast.
Honored to be on here with you,Jerry, I'm happy to come back
anytime, but thank you for thechat today.
I very much enjoyed it.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the
single largest database ofmuskie angling education
material anywhere in the world.
Speaker 7 (42:12):
Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this
amazing community and share itwith passionate anglers just
like you.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Thus the Ugly Pike podcast was born and quickly
grew to become one of the topfishing podcasts in North
America.
Speaker 7 (42:26):
Step into the world of angling adventures and
embrace the thrill of the catchwith the Ugly Pike Podcast.
Join us on our quest tounderstand what makes us
different as anglers and touncover what it takes to go
after the infamous fish of10,000 casts.
Speaker 5 (42:40):
The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing.
It's about creating atight-knit community of
passionate anglers who share thepodcasts.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com