Dianne Saxe, née Shulman (born November 27, 1952), is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected to represent Ward 11 University—Rosedale on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

following the 2022 municipal election. Before entering politics, Saxe practised

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

and served as the last environmental commissioner of Ontario from 2015 to 2019. She was deputy leader of the

Green Party of Ontario The Green Party of Ontario (GPO; ) is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. Schreiner was elected as Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada), MPP for the riding of Guelph (provincial electoral district), Gue ...

(GPO) from 2020 to 2022.

Legal career

Education

Saxe studied law at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(L.L.B.) in 1974. She was called to the bar in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. in law from Osgoode in 1991.

Career

Prior to entering the government sector, Saxe worked in private practice with two major law firms and then ran an environmental law boutique firm for 25 years. Her early career focused on the intersection of environmental law and corporate liability, while her more recent practice has centred on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and related law. She has published widely on environmental issues. From 1975 to 1989, Saxe practiced law with the

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

. In 1991, Saxe moved into private practice. She represented the

Association of Municipalities of Ontario The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is a non-profit organization representing municipal and regional governments in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created on June 22, 1972 through a merger of the Ontario Municipal Associa ...

(AMO) in their successful $115 million claim against Stewardship Ontario for the cost of Ontario's

Blue Box A blue box is an Electronics, electronic device that produces tones used to generate the in-band signaling tones formerly used within the North American long-distance telephone network to send line status and called number information over voi ...

program in 2014.

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario

Saxe was unanimously named the environmental commissioner of Ontario in 2015 by the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

for a five year term. The commissioner was an independent officer of the legislature which monitored the '' Environmental Bill of Rights'', and submitted annual reports on the province's progress on each of

energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less and better sources of energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavi ...

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

and

. She was also permitted to deliver special reports. As commissioner, she delivered 17 reports to the legislature on topics including environmental injustice to First Nations,

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, waste and

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity or CE) is a model of resource Production (economics), production and Resource consumption, consumption in any economy that involves sharing, leasing, Reuse, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and ...

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

soil health Soil health is a state of a soil meeting its range of ecosystem functions as appropriate to its environment. In more colloquial terms, the health of soil arises from favorable interactions of all soil components (living and non-living) that belong ...

and climate policy. On November 15, 2018, the Progressive Conservative (PC) government announced their intention to abolish the position of environment commissioner, transferring some of its functions to the

auditor general An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

. Saxe had published reports critical of the incoming administration's environmental positions, including the absence of a climate change policy. The decision to eliminate independent environmental oversight was widely reported on. More than 200 scientists and researchers sent an open letter to Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

calling for reconsideration. Her last report was heavily critical of the Ford government. After 25 years, the position of the environmental commissioner of Ontario ceased to exist when the ''Environmental Bill of Rights'' was amended on April 1, 2019.

Return to private practice

After being the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Saxe reopened her SaxeFacts environmental law practice focussed on climate issues. She publishes articles and a blog and presents on climate issues. She was a McMurtry Clinical Fellow at

from 2019 to 2020, is a senior fellow at

Massey College Massey College is the postgraduate University of Toronto#Colleges, college of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The college was established, built and ...

, and an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto School of the Environment. She hosts a podcast called "Green Economy Heroes" features interviews with green business leaders, and has also been a public support to the youth climate strikes movement in Toronto.

Political career

2022 provincial election

Saxe ran for the

in University—Rosedale. Her candidacy was confirmed along with the deputy leader role on November 30, 2020. She has cited the climate crisis as a primary reason for her political run as well as the well-publicized conflict with Ford over the closure of her office. The riding was one of a small number of ridings the Ontario Greens targeted to add to the single-seat caucus of provincial leader Mike Schreiner in the 2022 election; Saxe featured prominently in party campaign messaging and her riding was chosen for the platform launch. Housing policy and sprawl—key policy battles in

Greater Toronto The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

—were a focus of Saxe's campaign to curb Ontario emissions. The official party platform listed mental health, affordable housing, and the climate economy as its primary election pillars. Saxe came in fourth place, with 6,092 total votes for a share of 15.9 per cent; the riding was won by the incumbent,

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP) member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Jessica Bell. Saxe nearly tripled the Green vote share achieved in the 2018 provincial election.

2022 municipal election

Ward 11 University—Rosedale was left vacant for the 2022 election when Councillor Mike Layton announced he would not seek re-election. Saxe announced her candidacy for the 2022 Toronto municipal election, concluding on October 24, 2022. Saxe stated that she was running as an independent municipally and would resign as deputy leader of the GPO if elected. Saxe list housing, mobility, climate and sustainability, and a city in good repair as her primary platform planks. She won with 8,614 votes and 35.37 per cent of the total vote. She officially took office on November 15, 2022.

City Council

Saxe's first year on Toronto City Council coincided with the resignation of Mayor John Tory and the by-election that saw Olivia Chow assume the mayoralty. Saxe has held a number of committee appointments across both administrations, often relating to her background in environment and law. Chief among her appointments is the powerful Infrastructure and Environment Committee. Under Mayor Chow she has also been appointed to the board of the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

and Toronto Hydro. Her full list of council roles: * Infrastructure and Environment Committee * Toronto and East York Community Council * Toronto Atmospheric Fund Board of Directors * Toronto Transit Commission * National Zero Waste Council Management Board * Toronto and Region Conservation Authority * Toronto Hydro Corporation * 58 Cecil Street Community Centre Board of Management * William H.(Bill) Bolton Arena Board of Management

Awards and recognition

Saxe is a recipient of numerous awards, including specialist certifications from

The Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

Alumni Gold Key for Achievement and a 2020 Law Society Medal for exemplary leadership in environmental law. In August 2020, Saxe completed her training to become an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador, a member in the international network that leads climate simulation events developed by Climate Interactiv and the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. Saxe is also a trained Climate Reality Leader, having been personally trained by

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

on the climate crisis and its solutions. Saxe sat on a number of public and private boards, including Draxis Health, Solarshare, WindShare and Evergreen, helped to manage the endowment of the

Ontario Bar Association The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) is a bar association representing more than 16,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Ontario. It is also a branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Approximately two-thirds of a ...

and is recognized as board-ready by Women in Capital Markets. In June 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of

Environmental Studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...

from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

Personal life

Dianne Marie Shulman was born in Toronto on November 27, 1952, to Gloria (née Bossin) and Dr. Morton Shulman. He was

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

's Chief Coroner in the mid-1960s, dealing with such files as vehicle safety issues and deaths caused by clandestine

abortions Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnanci ...

. He then served in the

Ontario Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1967 to 1975 as a

(NDP) Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). He represented the

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

electoral district, where his medical practice was located. She was married for 42 years to Stewart Saxe until his death in November 2014. Their daughters are

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

neuroscience professor Rebecca Saxe, and

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

civil engineering professor, Shoshanna Saxe.

Publications

Books

* Saxe, Dianne (1990a). ''Environmental Offences Corporate Responsibility and Executive Liability''. Aurora, ON: Canada Law Book. * Saxe, Dianne (1990b). ''Ontario Environmental Protection Act Annotated''. Aurora, ON: Canada Law Book Inc. * Saxe, Dianne (1994). ''A Buyer's Guide to Contaminated Land''. Toronto: Edmond Montgomery.

Electoral history

References

External links

SaxeFacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxe, Dianne 1952 births Living people Canadian environmental lawyers Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Lawyers in Ontario Lawyers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian lawyers 20th-century Canadian women lawyers 21st-century Canadian lawyers 21st-century women lawyers Green Party of Ontario candidates in Ontario provincial elections Toronto city councillors Women municipal councillors in Ontario Jewish Canadian politicians Jewish women politicians Canadian environmentalists Women environmentalists 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors 21st-century Canadian women politicians