Further to the Town’s…

Further to the Town’s comments regarding Bill 5 – Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, dated May 17, 2025, prior to its enactment, Town staff remain significantly concerned about the Province’s recent and forthcoming changes to protections for species at risk.

These changes amount to removing oversight from the process of protecting the most vulnerable species in Oakville and more broadly Ontario. Specifically, the recently narrowed definition for habitat excludes areas of land that species rely on for life processes, including feeding grounds, migration, breeding, and seasonal habitats and weakens the process of protecting species at risk.

Ontario’s previous and current framework has already proven ineffective in preventing biodiversity loss, as highlighted in the State of Ontario’s Biodiversity 2025 report by the Ontario Biodiversity Council which shows that species are continuing to decline and 25 species were added to the Risk in Ontario List since 2021. The ongoing decline in species and their habitat underscores the urgent need to strengthen, not weaken, protection and oversight of activities that have the potential to harm species at risk.