Dear Minister Khanjin, Cc…

Dear Minister Khanjin,

Cc. Public Input Coordinator, Species at Risk Branch

I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed conditional exemption for black ash, a critically endangered species globally that is of great cult
ural significance to many Indigenous Peoples. Ontario’s conservation responsibility for the species is significant, since about 25 percent of the global range for the species occurs in our province.

The proposed exemption would deny legal protection for most black ash trees and their habitats in Ontario. Specifically, it would limit protections to only healthy individuals in only a small fraction of the species’ range in the province. Further, the extremely limited approach proposed for protecting habitat fails to account for seed dispersal, seedling establishment and the maintenance of wetland conditions that support viable black ash populations.

As highlighted at the COP 15 conference in Montreal last December, we are facing unprecedented and accelerating species loss worldwide. You can and must do better to protect species at risk in Ontario. I urge you not to proceed with the proposed conditional exemption for black ash.