This proposal is highly…

This proposal is highly problematic not only for protected species but environmental protections within Canada as a whole. The government should not be able to circumvent our current checks and balances to protect Ontario’s wildlife. Repealing Canada’s endangered species act removes one of the most significant protections to our wildlife. A registration first approach allowing proponents to begin activity immediately is not only unethical but it is intentionally vague and could thereby be highly damaging to environmental integrity.

Redefining protections, specifically with respect to classification of “habitat” is highly problematic in that it narrows the scope of spaces species require during different life stages by leaving areas critical to feeding, mating and migration unprotected. Removing requirements to develop recovery strategies and management plans all but ensures the degradation of already delicate ecosystems. Similarly the removal of “harass” regarding harm to species is asinine as harassment is a tangible metric which harms living creatures.

In times of uncertainty as we’re facing right now it’s more important than ever to protect ecosystems as they provide critical services such as water filtration, flood mitigation, and climate regulation.

While the housing crisis is an issue cutting protections to wildlife and delicate ecosystems will only negatively impact successive generations.

Furthermore giving government discretion on what species are protected is a gross misuse of power that can lead to all manner of biases serving human interest. The vague yet all-encompassing term of discretion will lead to detrimental outcomes of which species are protected because all species should be. There is a fine balance of an ecosystem and choosing to prioritize one of the other based on arbitrary selection jeopardizes the system as a whole.

In short this proposal aims to exercise a gross misuse of power, remove critical environmental and species protections on important and already degraded ecosystems, and streamline the implementation of systems that ultimately suit government interests by expediting necessary checks and balances.