Dear Minister & Staff of the…

Dear Minister & Staff of the Ministry of the Environment Conservation & Parks

In name your agency seems to be setup to Conserve the environment & parks, our community is wondering how the head of this agency could espouse such antithetical beliefs and actions that would destroy a wetland migratory pathway and home to over 88 endangered species just in our little part of the Carolinian Forest Zone.

There is a direct link between our Protected Ecosystem and Commerce. Fish like perch & pickerel spawn in this section of the Sydenham River, make their way down to Lake St Clair & Erie. These fish are then caught & end up on plates across the US & Canada. These small scale fishing businesses, seasonal fishing activities along the great lakes which supports the cottage industry, in addition to 1st nation's traditional fishing rights are tied to our Federally Protected Spawning grounds.

A strong economic impact argument can be made for the death of spawning grounds through invasive human activities like what is proposed in the York 1 direct discharge & drainage plans. Changing the flow rates, chemical composition of the water course will have a detrimental effect on the system.

Chemical bioaccumulation in the fish will be passed onto humans, the ripple effect on our healthcare system will be felt across the region, as consumers of the fish become ill.
The St Clair conservation reports chart the Sydenham rivers recovery over 50 yrs, from a lawless industrial dumping ground that created de-oxygenated dead zones in the river to protected spawning grounds. This project would erase all the work done to ensure we have a thriving space for endangered & commercial fish stocks to breed, harm the spin off industries like boat rentals, cottages, fishing derbies, restaurant sales, etc.

We ask that the Full E.A go ahead, do not gut the species at risk act, help protect nature & part of our Financial economy that relies on nature within the river..