Ontario. Environmental Office

• Environmental Office

The Environmental Office, formerly a section within the Environmental and Feasibility Studies Office, was separately established on 1 March 1974 in order to further develop its role of providing environmental input into the programs of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications (and later, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation).

The office has formed a part of a number of different branches and divisions since its establishment, including: the Project Planning Branch (1974-1976); the Municipal/Provincial Transportation Branch (1976- 1979); the Design and Construction Branch (1979-1980); the Highway Engineering Division (1982-1990); the Highway Engineering Division (1982- 1990); the Transportation Engineering Branch (1990-1998); and the Transportation Systems Planning Branch, later called the Transportation Planning Branch (1998- ).

From ca. 2000, the Environmental Office merged with the Provincial Planning Office to form the Provincial and Environmental Planning Office. The merger was reversed ca. 2010, and the newly separate unit was renamed the Environmental Policy Office.

By the late 1970s, many functions within the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications were decentralized to the five Regional Offices, including some of the functions of the Environmental Office. As a result, Environmental Units were established as part of the Regional Engineering and Right-of-Way Offices within each of the Regional Offices. The Environmental Office continues to provide central co-ordination, policy development, direction and liaison with these Environmental Units, which in turn, conduct the environmental assessments.

The Environmental Office develops policies and procedures, as well as monitoring and training activities, to ensure that the programs of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications (from 1974 to 1987) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (since 1987), comply with environmental legislation, regulations and standards.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

KWIC Index to Services; Ministry of Transportation and Communications Annual Reports.

Ontario Government Telephone Directories.

Not found in Canadiana Authorities, 1996-12-24.

Archivist(s):
Lisa Singer, Mark Epp; Shimpo