This proposal is going to…

This proposal is going to gut protections for endangered species, remove environmental protections, and trample Indigenous rights.

I want to focus especially on the changes to the registration and permitting system that this proposal implies:

- Almost all activities will be able to proceed immediately after registration in the "Species Conservation Registry" without prior government review. Instead of assuming that activities harmful to biodiversity in this province will require a permit, and creating a list of exceptions, Ontario will assume that all harmful activities will be able to proceed immediately without government oversight. This is a surefire way to ensure that endagered species and ecosystem health will be increasingly disrupted at a time when we are struggling with extinction and habitat loss worldwide.
- Opportunities for government review that previously allowed for First Nations consultation and accommodation are being removed. By stripping away triggers and opportunities for First Nations consultation, the government is trampling on indigenous rights and setting back the process of reconciliation. Many native communities in this province depend on healthy ecosystems for their communities and livelihood, and these changes will prevent them from participating in development decisions that they will be directly affected by.

Sadly this proposal is entirely consistent with the current government's track record of focusing on profit-driven development above all else. While our biodiversity, ecosystems and native communities will suffer, the government is making sure that profit-driven developers will be laughing all the way to the bank.