I am opposed to the proposed…

I am opposed to the proposed changes to the ESA. The lack of regard and protection for SAR and their habitat is the reason we have species at risk in the first place.. If there was more regard and respect for common species and nature in general. we would not have SAR in the first place. If you want to make it easier for developers, protect common species habitat and allow regulations like the ESA and other environmental protection policies / regulations to work so we stop forcing common species to become rare.

Furhermore, extending the period, in which a species is added to the SARO List, from 3 months to 12 months is unacceptable and undermines the objective of the ESA to protect rare species. A 12-month period will allow too much time for stakeholders (wishing to buy, sell or use property) to destroy SAR habitat (i.e. ‘land sterilization’) associated with the properties without facing consequences under the ESA. Making these proposed timeline changes would be huge oversight of the current government. The current time periods for assessing species at risk and listing them on the Species at Risk in Ontario List should remain unchanged.

Lastly, proposing to delist SAR that have healthy populations in other jurisdictions (e.g. USA), is a short-sighted and outrageous idea. The major oversight with this proposal is that it fails to understand the mass negative effect humans can have on a species. Biodiversity, the benchmark of a healthy and resilient natural environment, includes the diversity of a species across regonal boundaries. A species may be abundant outside of Ontario, but if that species' population outside of Ontario becomes decimated and extirpated, its Ontario population at the edge of its range, may be the only opportunity it has from going extinct. Also, regional climates and landscapes change over time as does a species range. We cannot predict this and so it is important to maintain diversity in its range so that species has every opportunity to adapt and survive future changes.