In an era when the…

In an era when the population of Ontario is growing, but climate warming is also increasing and more commonly threatening our Ontario communities, we need to focus on good planning. Good planning, based on natural heritage studies, will allow us to focus development for housing and infrastructure away from the natural heritage which sustains us now, and which will help us to mitigate and survive the changes that climate warming is bringing.

Species at risk habitats are generally found in the most important of these natural areas, and thus improving our protection of the habitats of species at risk will improve our chances for a less uncomfortable future.

Our economic future can be more readily realized if we share mapping with all potential proponents and make it clear which areas are not available for development, including crucial wetlands, woodlands, and water resources. Then planners can direct economic development to areas that are more suitable and we can rely on densification and concentration of human habitation within already well-defined boundaries while leaving a significant portion of the landscape to be used by non-human species including those at risk, as well as farmland, which is also under threat.

I urge the Ontario government to improve species at risk protection and shorten regulatory times by clarifying where development must be directed, away from SAR habitat and good quality farmland.