Toronto Environmental Alliance

For 20 years, TEA has been campaigning locally to find solutions to Toronto's urban environmental problems. And we're proud of what we've been able to accomplish along with our members and supporters.

In the 1990s we built an organization Torontonians could turn to to work together and advocate for real change. We first brought together volunteers and then hired professional staff who helped focus community efforts to bring about policy change at Toronto City Hall. By the late 1990s, our efforts began paying off with tangible green policies. Since then, we've celebrated lots of victories. Here are some of them:

1998: City adopts TEA's Smog Alert Action Plan to reduce smog emissions on smog days.

2000: City adopts first-ever Environmental Plan, with key input from TEA.

2000: TEA works with local citizens in Toronto and Kirkland lake to stop city plan to ship Toronto's garbage to the Adams Mine in Kirkland Lake.

2001: TEA launches the Beach Watch campaign to help educate beach goers about the sources of Beach pollution and the need for homeowner water conservation.

2002: City finally implements TEA plan for Green Bins.

2002: TEA works with a coalition of community groups to stop attempts to privatize Toronto's public water system.

2002: TEA gets public and politicians to take seriously 10 years of underfunding to the TTC.

2002: TEA is instrumental in developing Toronto’s Wet Weather Flow Master Plan, which outlines a 25 year work-plan to improve Toronto’s beaches, rivers and waterways by reducing pollution resulting from combined sewers and storm water run-off.

2003: TEA succeeds in getting the City to pass a pesticide ban on private property.

2004: TEA convinces City to increase TTC ridership and expand transit service.

2005: TEA co-founds the Low Income Energy Network (LIEN) to address the burden of home energy costs on low-income families and to advocate for low-income energy efficiency and conservation programs. The Ontario government adopts and implements many of LIEN’s recommendations.

2005: TEA works with tenants to launch an innovative tenant-led energy conservation program at an east-end Toronto Community Housing neighbourhood. The program wins a prestigeous "Green Toronto" award.

2006: TEA launches its Community Right to Know Campaign, calling on Toronto to adopt a bylaw that discloses the use, storage and release of toxic chemicals in our neighbourhoods.

2006: TEA succeeds in getting Mayor David Miller and other candidates to include important environmental goals in their election platforms.

2007: City adopts smog and climate change plan including key recommendations made by TEA over the past 10 years.

2007: TEA launches Secrecyistoxic.ca, an innovative website that allows Torontonians to learn about toxic concerns and green businesses in their neighbourhood. NOW Magazine awards Secrecyistoxic.ca as best community initiative.

2007: TEA launches Toronto's first-ever multicultural local food guides that provides information for where to buy locally-grown produce used in Chinese and South Asian cooking.

2008: TEA publishes first-ever ethnic food guides that provide information about where Torontonians can buy fresh, locally grown food used in Chinese and South Asian cuisine.

2008: City Council adopts a local food procurement policy that includes a target to buy 50% local food as soon as possible.

2008: City passes country’s first ever Community Right to Know Bylaw that will require businesses - from dry cleaners to funeral homes and auto-body repair shops - to reveal their discharges of 25 priority chemicals.

Open the file below for a printable timeline of some of TEA's accomplishments over the past 20 years.