What is your vision for the…

What is your vision for the future of invasive species prevention and management in the province?
Let native species adapt to current invasive species; while preventing new populations of invasive species is good, stop spending so much time and money (never mind the collateral damage) using herbicides or pesticides to remove invasives. Unless people are planning on poisoning invasives in perpetuity, let the ones that are here integrate into the local communities. If removal has to happen (and 'has to' is nebulous - how would this be defined?), use mechanical methods only (ie. people power - get the high school students out to remove invasive plants instead of using herbicides).

What opportunities are there for the future of invasive species prevention and management in Ontario?
Increased legislation - do not allow any use of baitfish at all. The idea of killing fish so you can catch more fish is outdated and only services a small proportion of Ontario's community. Prevention is the BEST way to stop new species arriving in new areas. Why are goldfish permitted for sale in stores when they're so destructive in the environment? Stop it at the source (making dumping illegal isn't working). Also there's likely the opportunity for more enforcement in making sure pet stores or individuals online are not selling illegal species (like marbled crayfish).

Do you think there are barriers related to invasive species prevention and management in Ontario? How could these barriers be addressed?
The barriers are the vocal special interest groups (e.g. OFAH) that think fishing is the only important thing and will vehemently oppose anything that may interfere with someone's ability to do whatever they want - because the immediate 'cost' to a single person's freedom is obvious, while the long-term cost if that results in an invasive species establishment is harder to quantify (due to its probabilistic nature) and that the cost is spread over the population. So societal values of 'what I want now' trumps ecological values of possible damage in the future. Same with MNRF - the interests of the vocal minority too often are listened to over the known costs of invasive species spread. So, follow the science and economical calculations showing how much these species cost us, acknowledge we give up some 'freedoms' to prevent it (that's part of being in a society), and make the best laws.