The ESA legislation and…

The ESA legislation and recovery plans provide habitat protection for over 200 animals and plants. Never in all the years I have worked in the consulting industry has an ESA permit prevented proposed development. The only complaint proponents have is the length of time the review takes. If the Ontario government wants to streamline the development process then my suggestion is to hire more staff to review ESA applications. Increased MNRF or MOECP staff numbers will result in a faster review time.

What cannot happen is a blanket approval for any type of development. Habitat loss is the main reason species populations are declining. I do not want my children asking in 20 years why we let developers remove the last wildlife corridors . Interior forest requires a certain area to provide nesting habitat, watercourses require a certain size buffer and LID methods to keep them cold/ cool, wetlands provide water quality, infiltration and wildlife habitat.

Climate change is occurring and the loss of buffers between natural features and development will result in negative impacts. The weakening of the ESA is not something that we should support if we want to provide a healthy environment for our children. No one will look back and say "wow the Ford government really saved tax payers a lot of money by letting that small percentage of developers remove habitat for wildlife without a review process, mitigation or compensation". They will say what were you thinking, that industrial park requires roads, sewers, hydro, gas and outfalls all of which impact different aspects of ecological function. Roads, crossings groundwater pumping, all can cause disruption of wildlife's ability to breed, eat, overwinter, migrate, etc. Who will assess those functions if the ESA is further dismantled?

I request that the act is made stronger by providing additional staff and support to actually provide good scientific feed back on how development and natural features can both thrive.

From a mother who wants her daughter to live in a sustainable Ontario.