One would hope the Ontario…

One would hope the Ontario Government would redouble efforts to protect biodiversity in the province as a cornerstone necessary to combating climate change and furthering our communities and economy. Instead these proposals water down and cease many protections to endangered species habitat and the ability to ensure biodiversity. Whereas the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) has been the independent science-based committee responsible for assessing and classifying species in Ontario but with the new approach the government would have discretion to add extirpated, endangered, and threatened species to the list of protected species and the government would also have discretion to remove protected species from the list, presumably to satisfy the demands of the economy; developers and corporate interests writ large.
Furthermore, the proposed new legislative framework also removes the express ability to establish an advisory committee. As such, the Species at Risk Program Advisory Committee will also be wound down.
Given the rapid decline of species variety and habitat due to climate change it would seem to a rational person faced with thew possibility of an uninhabitable planet, we should be making every effort to promote diversity lest we end up with a booming economy which is destroying our ability to survive on the planet!