TORONTO -- Ontario is considering regulations to force owners of tall buildings to take steps to protect birds, which die by the millions each year as they fly into skyscrapers.
Birds are confused by lights left on in highrises at night, and during the day they get disoriented by glass windows that reflect the sky or nearby trees and plants.
Environmental commissioner Ellen Schwartzel takes the Liberal government to task in her annual report for saying voluntary measures are the way to get building owners to turn off lights, install non-reflective glass and window coverings.
A 2013 ruling by the Ontario Court of Justice found reflected light that is responsible for bird deaths is a "contaminant" under the Environmental Protection Act.
Schwartzel says that ruling put a responsibility to regulate on the ministry of the environment, but instead it opted for a voluntary approach to get building owners to take steps to protect birds.
Environment Minister Glen Murray says his staff may have been too quick to reject the idea of regulations, and says he agrees with the commissioner's criticisms.
Murray admits he wasn't paying much attention to bird deaths until he read Schwartzel's report, where he learned about the court ruling on reflected light and how the problem leads to so many bird deaths.
"I'm very concerned about it and I don't think our response at this point is adequate," he said. "I'm going to go back to the ministry and suggest that we look at engaging building owners and maybe look at a more complete response than throwing the idea of regulations out altogether."
The ministry of the environment was given a chance to respond to Schwartzel's report before it was made public, and made it clear it didn't want to impose regulations to protect birds from striking tall buildings.
"The ministry is satisfied that not proceeding with compliance activities for the emission of reflected light is appropriate," it said in the official response. "A regulatory framework would be difficult to enforce and would potentially limit innovative solutions by businesses that could be specific to their operations."
Schwartzel expressed doubts about the ministry's strategy, and suggested high rise buildings should have to get an Environmental Compliance Approval, which allows proponents to emit limited amounts of pollutants under specific conditions.
"It appears that the ministry's preferred approach is to ignore its regulatory responsibility and leave it up to property owners and managers to voluntarily follow guidelines and suggested strategies," she said. "The non-profit groups that have been working on this for decades say they've tried the voluntary approach and they're not seeing any traction."
There are special window fittings that can be installed on existing buildings and in new construction that will help birds recognize them as structures so they don't crash into them, added Schwartzel. But only a very few building owners have invested in the window treatments to help the birds.
"The people who go out at the crack of dawn to monitor and track these birds are definitely still seeing a great deal of mortality," she said.
