Eva Bobbi Ligeti (born 1950) is a Canadian lawyer and academic, with a particular focus on environmental law and regulation. She was the first

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO; french: Commissaire à l’environnement de l’Ontario) was a non-partisan officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario charged with upholding the province's '' Environmental Bill of Rights'' (EBR ...

History

Eva Ligeti was appointed in 1994 as the first Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. Her selection was made by an all-party committee of Ontario provincial legislature. Ligeti remained Commissioner until 1999, reviewing the government's compliance with the

Environmental Bill of Rights The ''Environmental Bill of Rights'' (EBR) is a provincial law in Ontario, Canada passed in 1993 to provide a bill of rights to Ontario residents for environmental matters. Significantly, it gives Ontario residents the right to participate in en ...

and reporting to an all-party committee of the Ontario legislature. In her annual report of April, 1999, she warned of a public health crisis as a result of high levels of air pollution. Her five-year appointment was not renewed, as she was so advised by the government in August 1999. Her appointment had at that time already been subject to a three-month extension, based on the Legislature not being in a position to discuss a replacement, due to the

1999 Ontario general election The 1999 Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999 to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The governing Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Premier Mike Harris, was re-elected ...

in June. The termination of Ligeti's appointment was controversial, in that it was made by order of Cabinet. Opposition members of the legislature objected, on the basis that Ligeti was an Officer of the Legislature, similar to the Provincial Auditor. Opposition members argued that her termination should therefore have been by a vote of Members of the Provincial Legislature. Joel Ruimy, "Outspoken environmental watchdog fired". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', August 19, 1999, p. A4. Ligeti was succeeded on an interim basis by

Ivy Wile ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

, a retired assistant deputy minister of the

Ontario Ministry of the Environment The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is an Ontario government ministry responsible for protecting and improving the quality of the environment in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as coordinating Ontario's actions on c ...

, until the appointment of Gord Miller in 2000. Ligeti is a past principal at

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada regions. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate and ...

of Applied Arts and Technology and former chair of its School of Legal and Public Administration. A lawyer, Ligeti focussed on civil litigation and administration law in her practice with Iler, Campbell and Associates. She has served as legal counsel to the Canadian Environmental Law Association. Ligeti was executive director of the Clean Air Partnership from 2000 - 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligeti, Eva 1950 births Living people Canadian environmental lawyers Canadian women environmentalists Canadian women lawyers Lawyers in Ontario Academic staff of Seneca College