My vision for the future of…

My vision for the future of invasive species prevention and management in Ontario:
--Ontario strengthens its regulations against invasive species. As a minimal first step, all the plants identified in the Ontario Auditor General “Value-for-Money Audit: Management of Invasive Species” report (2022) should be immediately added to the invasive species act. The legislation and penalties also need to be actively enforced.
--We need leadership and co-operation among all 3 levels of government.
--We need systems to identify and eradicate infestations, including support for community groups who are willing to take on some of this work.
--We need to educate the public and businesses about species that pose a danger to our ecosystems. In particular, invasive species should not be sold or used by horticultural or landscaping companies. As a first step towards this, all invasive species being used by these companies should come with warning labels and grow-instead alternatives.

Barriers related to invasive species prevention and management in Ontario? How could these barriers be addressed?
--Cost is always an issue, however the damage caused by these species is a far greater cost. Could the government pursue partnerships with non-profits and businesses working in this industry? Enforcing fines against violators?
--Complicated/piecemeal regulation and information silos. We need all levels of government working together to create a comprehensive system to deal with this problem. We also need all the stakeholders to share information and resources.
--Invasive species spread through global trade and migration or environmental shifts due to climate change. We need to form international partnerships to track species of concern and proactively monitor species that might become problems in the future, rather than waiting to react after they have already established a foothold.