Good evening, I am very…

Good evening,

I am very concerned about this new Bill 5 that is being proposed.

The last couple of years I have been working with species at risk, reptiles specifically, and it has become clear to me that they are facing more threats now then ever before. For that reason alone, the ESA if anything should be maintained or ideally, strengthened.

One severe threat to reptiles like snakes and turtles is road mortality. Southwestern Ontario has the highest density of human population in Canada, yet it also has the highest biodiversity of species at risk. The massive network of roads has isolated populations and made it nearly impossible for certain species to be able to migrate if habitat becomes not suitable anymore. Thousands of reptiles get killed on roads every year and I think it would be fair to say the invention of automobiles has been the worst possible outcome for many species, not just reptiles.

The one part of the bill that really scares me is the whole change of habitat definition. If this occurs, there will be a very high chance many species will face local extirpation. A habitat should not only be restricted to where they are found … many species will travel very far distances through areas that are just as important to their survival as their nesting site for example.

I understand the need for building an economy, but as people have already mentioned, more than 50% of natural areas in Ontario have been lost over the last 150 years, and we need to preserve what we have left. If we start shrinking these areas, population levels of species within them will certainly drop until they collapse. Many of these species are already near these levels. For example, nearly all turtles and snakes in Ontario are either threatened or endangered, due to things like urbanization, habitat loss, pollution, etc. Many of these species have been around long before human population’s skyrocketed, and it is clear that their decline is due to our increase in population.

As I learned through my education, many scientists predict we are entering a global mass extinction for the sixth time in global history. The thing is, this is the first time it is occuring through the acts of one species, humans. All the other ones occurred through more natural occurances such as an asteroid strike, volcanoes, or golbal cooling/warming. This should be an alarming statistic.

We need to realize as the most dominant species on earth that our decisions can have very severe consequences. Being the ones with the most power, we also have the most to lose.
We need to stand up for wildlife more than ever, not weaken their protections. This will certainly have an impact on humans if it occurs. These ecosystems provide essential functions to humans such as maintaining good water quality, flood control, CO2 regulation, and much more. Without these areas, humans will suffer.

Furthermore, ecosystems are very complex and if one link is removed, it will likely have cascading effects until an eventual ecosystem collapse. Once this occurs, it is very difficult to re-store. One good example of this is the overfishing of our oceans. Target species get wiped out and then other species suffer until populations become too low to sustain. Similar situations are occuring in our wetlands as well, for example.

We are starting to already see the effects that global warming is having on our areas with low natural coverage, and if we cut what little we have left, the effects will be much worse. With humans being the ones who caused this current biovidversity crisis we are in, we must be the ones to at least try to reverse some of the damage. This proposed bill is the exact opposite of that.

It is really discouraging to think that this may be the direction we are headed, and I truly hope enough people speak up to stop this. Otherwise, we are certainly headed to the land of no return. The ESA needs to be strengthened, not weakened.
I appreciate the opportunity to comment. Please do the right thing for wildlife and the future of humans in Ontario.