Many conservation…

Many conservation organizations have already highlighted the major and direct impact of this bill on our wildlife. The fact that this bill would have deterimental effects on our envrionment has already been well established. In this comment I will focus on the societal implications of this bill.

It is becoming increasingly easy for humans to think of ourselves as separate from nature. Yet all people of different ages and backgrounds feel drawn to some form of it. We have all felt the wonder from learning a new fun fact about animals, seeing a breathtaking landscape, listeing to birds chirp, or smelling flowers and many other daily interactions with nature. In truth we have never been, nor will we ever be, separate from nature. Our health and happiness depends on the envrionment we live within. The environment we live within depends on all the creatures it sustains. All forms of nature are crucial to one another, like an infinite butterfly effect. Let one species parish and 100 more species suffer immensely from it's absence. It is a massive scale of community in which every single member is important.

The rights of endangered species are human rights. If protection for these vulnerable species is discarded, in the end, it will be humans who suffer alongside them.

We need to give ourselves more credit. We live in complex times, but Canadians have faced challenges before, and we will continue to perservere through all the challenges that are yet to come. We are smart, creative, innovative, and ambitious, but most of all we are caring. Caring for others is our most defining quality that unities all who inhabit this land. The animals and plants which inhbabit this land are just as much Canadians as the humans. They are our responsibility to care for and protect because they are apart of us. This responsibility does not simply disappear just because we are facing challenges. The right thing to do is often difficult, but it is always worth it. Do not make rushed decisions now which will only amplify problems later.

There is more than enough land in Ontario to support both our most vulnerable animal species and our most vulnerable humans. I believe in us, we have the skill set, and I know experts from both conservation and economic sectors can work together to support development for humans. We just have to try. We can accomplish anything we set our minds to.

There will be no point in building if we tear down our community in the process. More now than ever we need to stand together and protect one another. As someone impacted by the housing crisis, I would never want to impose the same fate onto another being. An endangered species does not need to be kicked out of their home in order for me to get a home.

It will be difficult for the people of Ontario to believe that their government will protect them when they are so willing to strip protections for our most vulnerable species.

This bill proposes unconstitutional power for the Ontario government. It is dangerous for our society to accept these changes which would provide unreasonable authority to Ministers. The government must be held accountable by its own laws to uphold the rights of the communities which it governs. As representitives of their constituents they have the moral and legal responsibility to take all actions necessary to ensure their bills are founded in good faith. Bill 5 is not in good faith. Vague, broad, and hasty bills are not constructive.

I urge the Ontario government to withdraw Bill 5. I urge members of parliment to understand the value in our ecosystems and inforce legislations for conservation that is based in science by experts in the field.