Biological diversity creates…

Biological diversity creates the resilience required to sustain a healthy ecosystem. This is essential in our current climate crisis (Oliver et al., 2015). Biodiversity conservation ensures we will gain the benefits of ecosystem services provided by a healthy system (Rey et al., 2009).

The proposed replacement of the Endangered Species Act with the Species Conservation Act would reduce the protection of all species, including those already under threat (Singh, 2025).

One of the ways it would do this is by restricting the definition of "habitat" to something akin to a human home with a front lawn, however, without the benefit of home food delivery apps. This is a problem because the narrower definition excludes protection of certain habitats specifically for feeding which is necessary for survival (Singh, 2025).

Additionally, Bill 5 removes the protection of areas related to migration (Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025, 2025). Evidence shows that if a species is not equipped with all its required habitats (not just those decided upon by politicians or proponents with no environmental background or care for the health of a particular species, population or overall ecosystem health), they risk becoming extirpated, i.e., extinct in a specific region, or extinct (Why Some Species Become at Risk - Canada.ca, 2014).

Keystone species under the new legislation would be of particular concern given their role is disproportionately more impactful on their surrounding ecosystems and other species, i.e., their removal significantly alters the abundance and diversity of other organisms (Keystone Species, 2024). One such species is the Eastern/Algonquin Wolf, which is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (Eastern Wolf | Ontario.ca, 2014). Their presence is essential in facilitating ecosystem balance through the management of prey species (Schueman, 2024).

Additionally, the lack of protection for umbrella, indicator and culturally significant species, such as Boreal Caribou is of great concern. Under the current Act, the Government of Canada specifies that species become at risk due to "habitat loss and degradation, genetic and reproductive isolation, environmental contamination, climate change, disease and invasive species." All of these factors are likely to increase without proper protective legislation (Why Some Species Become at Risk - Canada.ca, 2014).

The proposed "one click registration" for project approvals and the introduction of Special Economic Zones would remove the input of environmental experts prior to project implementation (Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025, 2025). The current Endangered Species Act is drawn from an independent panel of scientific experts called the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO), which includes Indigenous Community members. They utilize a science-based approach and Traditional Ecological Knowledge to classify endangered or threatened species, which are then provided with automatic legal protection that covers the full range of habitats required (How Species at Risk Are Listed, 2014).

If removed the decisions will be left up to untrained politicians and proponents whose main interest is in economic growth without concern for the health of environment, or how loss of protection could affect the environment for future and current generations (Peiman, 2025).

The proposed bill releases proponents from any responsibility to mitigate the negative impacts of habitat fragmentation (which occurs if portions of a species' habitat are disconnected through destruction (Martin, 2018)). For example, under the new bill, a proposed Highway 413 with 85 waterway crossings would further fragment the habitat of an already endangered Redside dace fish and others, including the Western chorus frog and seven bird species (Peiman, 2025).

This pathway would also eliminate the legal requirement of early meaningful consultation with Indigenous people, resulting in a direct attack against Indigenous constitutional rights (Bowman, 2025).

The province claims that the duty to consult would be unaffected by the new bill, but a lawsuit brought by numerous Treaty 9 First Nations is evidence of the great concern these changes will mean for Indigenous communities and the lands they steward (Loverin, 2025).

This is not surprising given the Species Conservation Act discards all the legally-binding commitments related to mitigation and recovery strategies and environmental stewardship (Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025, 2025).

Though Bill 5 flaunts itself under the guise of being a purely economically incentivized act, it is a smoke screen to amplify the influence and power of politicians to push their localized agendas without the input of scientific experts or care for the detrimental impacts those decisions will have on the environment.

As clarified by MPP Jamie West, streamlining processes through the "one project, one process" approval model is only 1% of the 229-page omnibus bill. The hidden agenda is to "write a cheat code so you (politicians) can magically call anything you want a special economic zone, and you can ignore or rewrite bylaws and legislation," including eliminating protection of endangered species (Hansard Transcript 2025-May-01 | Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 2025).