As a constituent in this…

As a constituent in this community, I find Bill 5 incredibly troubling. To name a few of my concerns; firstly, I think that repealing the Endangered Species Act and replacing it with the newly proposed Species Conservation Act is an action entirely motivated by profit rather than conservation. The former Act is critical for protecting the numerous protected species in our environment, and this attempt to alter these protections is clearly not supported by environmental scientists. Secondly, the introduction of “special economic zones” further underlines the whole purpose of Bill 5, which is to disregard our environmental protections to give developers the protected lands. As someone who deeply cares about our environment, this disgusts me and I know it will have devastating impacts on our local wildlife. Lastly, Bill 5 doesn’t only threaten environmental protections, but also Indigenous rights. For example, this bill could allow the development of the Eagle’s Nest Mine to move forward without necessary environmental assessments. For far too long our government has not listened to Indigenous voices when it comes to the treatment of our land, and that must change, NOW.