Comments on ERO 025-0909…

Comments on ERO 025-0909. Proposed legislative and regulatory amendments to enable the Species Conservation Act, 2025 (SCA) – Private Individual

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed legislative and regulatory amendments to enable the Species Conservation Act, 2025. I am writing to you as a private individual and citizen of Ontario.

I strongly disagree with replacing the Endangered Species Act and am deeply disappointed at how weak and ineffectual the new Species Conservation Act appears to be. This act purports to have two purposes:

(a) to identify species at risk based on the best available scientific information, including information obtained from community knowledge and Indigenous traditional knowledge; and
(b) to provide for the protection and conservation of species while taking into account social and economic considerations, including the need for sustainable economic growth in Ontario.
Furthermore, this act is founded in the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 which has as its stated purpose to help Ontario’s industries thrive, respond to trade issues like U.S. tariffs, and support the long-term strength and security of the province and its economy.
Finally, the proposal states that the SCA will continue to provide protection for species at risk and their core habitats.
My comments are given in light the light of the above stated purposes.
Overarching comments:
• Calling something the Species Conservation Act does not in itself result in an act that promotes the conservation of species. It is the specific details of the prohibitions, enabling clauses, regulations and policies etc. which determine if an act meets its overall purpose.
• The fundamental approach of the new act is to put the onus on persons engaging in activities to be able to determine if those activities will adversely impact species or their habitats.
o Proponents are expected to do this without guidance from recovery planning documents which are no longer required.
o Proponents are prohibited from causing extirpation of a species and from undertaking a registerable activity without it being properly registered.
o The act does not contain any provisions for providing proponents with the information they would need to determine if an activity is likely to cause extirpation.
o The act does not contain any provisions for determining if someone has undertaken a registerable activity that is not properly registered.
• Despite clause 3 of the SCA specifying non abrogation or derogation of existing Aboriginal or treat rights there is nothing in the act or proposed regulations that specifies how the government intends to prevent contravening those rights.

Specific comments on this proposal:
• The new act and regulations do not appear to apply to extirpated species since neither habitat nor individuals are covered by the act and no provisions for recovery are mentioned.
• The act and regulations put the onus of planning on individuals undertaking activities covered by the act and then only by order of the minister. This will result in a piecemeal approach to species conservation that is unlikely to prevent further decline in species and their necessary habitats.
o The primary interest of these individuals is unlikely to be species conservation and it cannot be expected that they will take responsibility for the conservation and recovery of species.
• The act and regulations exclude special concern species.
o The act provides the following definition: a species shall be classified as a special concern species if it lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.
o Exclusion of the species of special concern from the regulations prevents the Ontario Government from obtaining information from proponents on these species, so as to track their status and would thus impede any ability to reassess the species to determine if it has become threatened or endangered or to take action to prevent it becoming threatened or endangered.
o This exclusion ensures that the federal government will be obliged to take responsibility for all management planning for species of special concern, not only on federal lands in the Province of Ontario but also non-federal lands in the Province of Ontario.
• The act and regulations exclude aquatic species and migratory birds.
o This exclusion ensures that the federal government will be obliged to take responsibility for all recovery planning, identification of critical habitat and protection of individuals, residences and critical habitat for these species, not only on federal lands in the Province of Ontario but also non-federal lands in the Province of Ontario.
• The act and regulations apply only to a small portion of the habitat necessary for the recovery and survival of threatened and endangered species and no habitat for extirpated species. They also do not require recovery planning, or action planning.
o This restriction ensures that the federal government will be obliged to take responsibility for all recovery planning, identification of critical habitat and protection critical habitat for all other extirpated, threatened and endangered species, not only on federal lands in the Province of Ontario but also non-federal lands in the Province of Ontario.
• As a result of the above exclusions and restrictions, the act and regulations create significant uncertainty for industry and for municipalities who are looking for policy consistency among different orders of government.
o Together this act and these regulations will reduce public trust in government and industry.
o They will also likely result in trade restrictions from those countries with an interest in ensuring high environmental standards and a level playing field among nations (e.g. the European Union).
o This lack of public trust, uncertainty and potential for trade restrictions have a high potential to be disruptive politically and economically.
• There is as yet no list of registerable activities therefore it is not possible to comment on the specific application of any regulations, policies or guidelines.
o The concept of preparing an exhaustive list of registerable activities risks commission of officially induced error by exclusion of activities that can indeed adversely impact a protected species but which are not on the list due to a lack of foresight on the part of the government or economic/industrial innovations or as a result of proponents “gaming the system” by misrepresenting their activities as not being on the list.
• The proposal specifies that Information submitted to the Registry may be made publicly available to support transparency.
o If the intention is to support transparency, then the information submitted to the Registry must be made publicly available. If it discretionary it is not transparent.
• Registrants may be required to work with qualified professionals to develop site-specific conservation plans that include actions to avoid or reduce impacts on species and their habitats. Information submitted to the Registry may be made publicly available to support transparency.
o It is strongly urged that registrants be required to work with qualified professionals in order to avoid unintentional (or intentional) misrepresentation of the facts.
• Regarding the application of the Environmental Bill of Rights to the SCA:
o I support the application of Parts IV, V and VII of the Environmental Bill of Rights to this act.
o I do not support exempting all permits and orders issued under the SCA from Part II.

In summary, based on the above findings and comments, I submit that the Species Conservation Act and the proposed legislative and regulatory amendments fail to meet the stated purposes providing for protection and conservation of species, taking into account social and economic considerations, helping Ontario’s industries thrive, responding to trade issues, supporting the long-term strength and security of the province and its economy. Furthermore, the proposal does not enable the Species Conservation Act to provide protection for species at risk and their core habitats. Rather, together they create greater uncertainty for industry, are disrespectful of Indigenous rights, impede development of a sustainable economy and endanger trade.