Hello, I am a concerned…

Hello,

I am a concerned Ontario resident and Canadian citizen. I work in wildlife conservation, specifically in endangered species at Reverse the Red, a global movement aligned with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. But more importantly, I am someone with a deep, lifelong admiration for Canada’s wild spaces and the incredible biodiversity they support.

I’m writing to express my strong opposition and deep concern regarding Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025.

This bill is destructive, unscientific, and recklessly short-sighted. It proposes to repeal Ontario’s Endangered Species Act (ESA), replacing it with a framework that weakens protections for species at risk and hands alarming levels of discretion and power to political actors and developers — all under the false promise of “economic growth.”

As someone trained in species conservation, I am disturbed that these proposed changes ignore science and dismantle environmental oversight. Redefining "habitat" to exclude key survival needs like access to food, water, and migration corridors is ecologically indefensible. Wildlife — like people — need more than just a bedroom to survive.

I also want to correct a misleading narrative: the ESA is not what’s slowing down development. My father is a civil engineer who works with developers, and from that front-line perspective, it is municipal planning and internal approval processes that typically delay project timelines — not species protection regulations. Scapegoating endangered species for inefficiencies in other departments is disingenuous and dangerous.

Under this bill, species like the blanding’s turtle, redside dace, and eastern loggerhead shrike would be left vulnerable to destruction, as critical habitats fall within “Special Economic Zones” — areas where environmental laws are essentially suspended. This opens the door to unchecked development and the irreversible loss of entire ecosystems.

Bill 5 is not only bad policy — it is morally bankrupt. It abandons our duty to future generations — human and non-human — in favor of short-term profits. Canada made global commitments at COP 15 to halt species extinction. Passing this bill would not only undermine those promises but betray the values Canadians hold dear.

I urge you, in the strongest possible terms: do not pass Bill 5.
Do not trade away our forests, our wetlands, our species, or our future for concrete and quick cash.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Ontario Resident