It is abundantly clear that…

It is abundantly clear that these proposed changes to Ontario’s Endangered Species Act will result in devastating losses of biodiversity and put all of Ontario’s species at further risk of extinction. When the ESA was originally put into place, it was hailed as one of Canada’s strongest laws in the protection of biodiversity and species at risk. In the years since, Doug Ford’s government has passed amendment after amendment, weakening the Act, leading to these new changes that propose the removal of every meaningful aspect of it, including the very Act itself.

The Ford government claims that the purpose of the new Species Conservation Act will be to drive species protection and conservation, while balancing socioeconomic factors. It is evident that these changes do nothing but make permitting destruction of habitat easier for construction projects, with no care given to the wellbeing of wildlife; there is no balance, but a biased free-for-all towards advancing construction activities in important wildlife habitat.

The very nature of permits are a study in restraint against unnecessary development, while recognizing the intrinsic importance of Ontario’s biodiversity. Permits, as currently written within the ESA, are already made to balance socioeconomic factors: construction activities that may harm a species at risk, or destroy or damage its habitat, MUST result in a significant social or economic benefit to Ontario and also MUST NOT jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species. Doug Ford believes that properly considering these factors before approving multi-million dollar projects is too difficult and time consuming - this should be the basic due diligence that the government owes to its people, animals, and land.

The new Act proposes the government’s ability to arbitrarily remove species to and from the List of species at risk, undermining the scientific basis on which these species are listed in the first place. If any species, at any time and for whatever reason, can suddenly be deemed “not at risk”, this removes any integrity that this Act may have had. Giving the Ford government, which has already been clear in their lack of interest in the protection of wildlife and native spaces, the permission to remove endangered species at will, will render this new Act meaningless in its implementation.

The redefining of ‘habitat’ to which the prohibitions, and thus protections, apply for listed species, is absolutely ridiculous. Protecting solely residences and nests negates any other important areas used by the species, including areas required for migration, reproduction, or feeding and foraging.

The exact reason why these two terms are differentiated in the federal Species at Risk Act (‘Residences’ (which bear striking similarities to the definition of ‘habitat’ as provided in Ontario’s proposed act) and ‘Critical Habitat’) is because not every species will HAVE a residence. This means that there may be NO protected habitat for some listed species at risk, which is unacceptable.

Removing recovery documents from Ontario legislation shows a lack of responsibility and leadership. Relying on the federal Act to provide Ontario with documents that support recovery and survival is ridiculous. The majority of land in Ontario is non-federal - Ontario should have responsibility for the recovery of its own species on its own land. Federal documents have additionally frequently been criticized for not meeting SARA timelines. It makes no sense for the Ontario government to wait on federal documents for its own species. How would the New Species Conservation Program know where to prioritize funding, if recovery documents are no longer necessary?

As a result of all of these changes, the prohibitions that are being carried over from the ESA are ridiculous, weak, and meaningless:
Activities that are likely to kill, harm, capture, or take a member of a species listed on the Protected Species in Ontario List - Good news! The government can remove species whenever they want now, so this list is meaningless.
Possessing, transporting, collecting, buying, selling, leasing, or trading a member of a species listed on the Protected Species in Ontario List - see above
Damage to or destruction of the habitat of a species listed on the Protected Species in Ontario List - what habitat?

Let us be abundantly clear about what these new amendments, and the new proposed Act, are. These amendments are being made so the Ford government can push construction projects forward without any care given to these wildlife species, and the people who hold them, and their habitat, dear. No need to issue permits for Redside Dace, or the 10 other species-at-risk with habitat who Highway 413 would put at risk, if it’s never listed in the first place, as these new changes would remove all freshwater fish and migratory birds from Ontario’s list.

The importance of Ontario’s species and biodiversity are written into the ESA itself. “In Ontario, our native species are a vital component of our precious natural heritage. The people of Ontario wish to do their part in protecting species that are at risk, with appropriate regard to social, economic and cultural considerations. The present generations of Ontarians should protect species at risk for future generations”.