As a concerned Ontarian, I…

As a concerned Ontarian, I am absolutely against changes to the 2007 Endangered Species Act.

There is a reason environmental assessments take time — to protect us from rushed short-term decisions that could have disastrous long-term consequences. Strong economy means strong environmental protections, including protecting our biodiversity.

In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022, biodiversity loss was ranked as the third most severe threat humanity will face in the next 10 years. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2022.pdf

The New Nature Economy Report II from WEF delivers a stark warning about the risks we are creating by destroying nature, stating that “$44 trillion of economic value generation – over half the world’s total GDP – is potentially at risk as a result of the dependence of business on nature and its services”.
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_Of_Nature_And_Business_202…

In 2021, OECD published a policy guide for finance, economic and environment ministers. The paper stated “[n]ature underpins all economic activities and human well-being. It is the world’s most important asset. Yet humanity is destroying biodiversity at an unprecedented rate, posing significant but often overlooked risks to the economy, the financial sector and the well-being of current and future generations.”
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/biodiversity-natural-capital-and-t…

Please consider this and other plentiful of scientific evidence urging policymakers to protect our biodiversity. We need this for our health, the health of our planet and the health of our economy.