Dear Minister, I am writing…

Dear Minister,
I am writing to you to express my concern over the proposed Bill 5 changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and eventually replacing it with the Species Conservation Act and the multitude of other changes that will harm Ontario’s biodiversity. As a young person in Ontario, I care about having a clean, sustainable future that I fear is in jeopardy due to Bill 5

The replacement of the Endangered Species Act (2007) with the watered-down Species Conservation Act will cause substantial harm to Ontario’s species richness and biodiversity. The law shifts power from an independent body of scientific advisors to the provincial cabinet to decide which populations should receive protections and remove requirements for the creation of recovery plans. The stated reason of “prioritizing sustainable growth” lays bare the true reason for the bill, which is to put the economy and growth over the environment instead rebuilding resilience and diversity.

Bill 5 will grant the government unlimited authority to allow businesses to operate with impunity in any area that it designates. The bill does not mention how Indigenous communities in the Ring of Fire will be consulted or included as part of the process to approve new projects. The land that many projects that are being fast tracked by Bill 5 lie on are Indigenous lands and it is important that the government consults and respects their input in a co-governance approach rather than to steamroll ahead without regard for their traditional ecological knowledge.

Bill 5’s creation of special economic zones will remove safeguards from existing environmental protection and assessment frameworks, as projects will be fast-tracked without the need for impact assessment or following provincial and municipal rules. Ontario’s Ring of Fire region will be especially affected as mining will undermine the connectivity and resilience of the ecosystem and has the potential to affect the region’s capacity as a carbon sink that has over 35 billion tons of carbon sequestered (Scott, 2023). The government is effectively giving itself the ability to designate any area as a lawless zone where anything goes and is lacking in clarity for municipalities. In addition, Bill 5 will lay out the red carpet for the controversial Ontario Place space project to proceed without the need for public consultation, which will remove the voice of the people from this project.

Bill 5 also shields the government and crown corporations involved in projects in the special economic zones from legal action, which will lead to a lack of accountability in the actions of the government. It is also opposed by a joint letter from over 100 civil and environmental organizations around the province.

These reckless actions will cumulatively undermine Ontario’s climate resilience and would render us more vulnerable to climate disasters and long-term ecological damage. In an era where species are going extinct faster than ever, it makes no sense to remove existing protections. Instead, let’s think about how we can better protect what remains for the next generations. I urge you to reconsider these changes before irreversible damage is done.