Where is the science that…

Where is the science that demonstrates that species at risk ‘animal’ creatures can survive without food or water since only a “place such as a den, dwelling place, such as a den, nest, or similar place, occupied or habitually occupied by one or more members of a species for the purposes of breeding, rearing, staging, wintering, or hibernating” and “only the area immediately surrounding a dwelling place described above that is essential for the purposes mentioned” will be protected. How is any animal be able to survive, let alone a species at risk if isolated and deprived of specific and often varied habitat it requires to exist?

There are NO such studies that support this conclusion.

Where are the scientific studies that conclude that species at risk plants can exist in total isolation without being interdependent on the surrounding environment because only the “critical root zone surrounding a member of the species” might be protected?

There are NO such studies that support this.

There are 264 species at risk in Ontario, ranging from special concern to extirpated. These species are facing various threats, including habitat loss, fragmentation, pollution, disease, climate change, and other anthropogenic factors. The list includes both plant and animal species.

There are currently 42 bird species listed as species at risk in Ontario. These include 13 endangered species, 11 threatened species, and 18 species of special concern. Additionally, 16 species are listed as extirpated.

The esteemed Cornell Lab of Ornithology has stated that there has been a loss of 3 billion birds in North America since the 1970s and recently there has been a measured 75% decrease in bird populations.. It appears you want to increase that loss through Bill 5.

Now you want to eliminate recovery strategies, along with disbanding the committee that provided outside advice and oversight. Now no permits, beneficial action, review or approval is needed to kill or harm a species or its habitat. Developers can proceed immediately by registering online. And, political discretion can veto or remove species from the species at risk list, meaning species that pose a problem for development could simply be removed.

So it appears the plan – is to either increase the species at risk list exponentially or completely do away with all species at risk in Ontario.