Mississaugas of the Credit…

Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) has 8 treaties around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, one of the most heavily developed areas of Canada. Due to the short timelines, we could not provide in-depth comments on the proposed regulations for the Species Conservation Act. We remain extremely concerned about the Species Conservation Act and the proposed regulations.
• Federal protection for species at risk isn’t the same as provincial protection. The two pieces of legislation are complementary and the federal Species at Risk Act is limited to federally regulated lands in Ontario.
• Enforcement has been very weak. Ministry has shown that it has very limited capacity to carry out compliance checks or to fine those breaking permit rules and requirements.
• The registration-based system reduces opportunities for consultation on impacts to Aboriginal and treaty rights. It is unclear how First Nations will be consulted on potential impacts to species at risk if it goes to a mostly registration-based permitting system.
• There will also be a clear lack of transparency and accountability to Ontarians since postings would be exempt from the Environmental Bill of Rights. Environmental integrity and species at risk protection is important to Ontarians, and the new regulations are speeding up the process for developers. This is not balancing interests but elevating the interests of developers above all other Ontarians. MCFN does not accept the narrative that tariffs mean that the economy prevails above all else.