Blue-Green Province: The Environment and the Political Economy of Ontario

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 4:10:00 PM - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 6:00:00 PM
Rm. 1190, Bahen Centre, 40 St. George Street
Environment Seminar



MARK WINFIELD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University

ABSTRACT: Prof. Winfield will be presenting conclusions from his new book Blue Green Province: The Environment and the Political Economy of Ontario (UBC Press 2012). The book explores the evolution of environmental policy in Ontario in the post-World War II period, with a focus on the modern period between 1971 and 2011. It places the provinces approach to environmental matters in the wider context of the changes in Ontario’s environment, economy and society over this period. Particular attention is given to the influence of levels of public concern for the environment on public policy, the impact of changes in dominant ideas about the role of the province state and the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability and the role of structural changes in the provincial economy. The presentation will include a discussion of the implications of the October 2011 election for the future of environmental and energy policy in Ontario.

BRIEF BIO: Mark Winfield is an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at York University. Prior to joining FES in 2007, Dr. Winfield was Associate Faculty with the University of Toronto's Centre for the Environmental, Program and Policy Director with the Pembina Institute and prior to that, Director of Research with the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy. Dr. Winfield holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto and has published numerous articles and book chapters on environment, energy and climate change policy in Canada. His new book Blue-Green Province: The Environment and the Political Economy of Ontario is published by UBC Press.