To whom it may concern,…

To whom it may concern,

First of all, let's call this what it really is. The Ford government is once again prioritizing the building of homes and infrastructure under the misguided assumption that it will fix all of your problems.

This proposed legislature reduces the protection of habitats to only ACTIVE nests or animal dwellings, completely ignoring years of science which proves our native species thrive with a fully connected and aged ecosystem. Many species return to nests year after year, including migratory birds. Those dwellings that may seem inactive at the time of registration may not truly be inactive. I have linked an archived article posted to the Ontario website in 2018 about the importance of biodiversity and how in danger it really is.

I understand the desire to want to speed up your processes. I do not claim to fully understand the current process for registration and permits, but it looks to me like you are trying to create shortcuts in a system that exists for a reason- to protect our native plants and animals. You cannot in one breath talk about the importance of Canada/Ontario and locally made goods and in the next breath set out to destroy what lives in this beautiful province and country.

I implore you to think on this act more carefully. Many people come to this province and country to see our beautiful forests and wildlife, especially those who visit the provincial parks to see migrations or appreciate habitats. Ecosystem conservation is everybodys job and following through on this act would make that job impossible.

Moreover, these protected animals have no say over the choices we make for them. These animals who are protected becayse of our actions to begin with. We have already seen the repercussions of this with increased coyote activity in Toronto because they simply have nowhere else to go.

I implore you to stop this act and instead turn your attention to conserving or even reconstructing our ecosystem. We also live in this environment you are suggesting we destroy. Please reconsider.