I do not support the…

I do not support the decision to implement the Species Conservation Act in lieu of the former Endangered Species Act, as it was prior to amendments made in June. As a 16 year old environmentalist, I hope to live in a world where we no longer have over 260 species at risk in Ontario, because we have protected them and allowed them to prosper.

I do not support this decision because not only does it jeopardize our biodiversity, it fails to benefit our fight with climate change, and it fails to benefit us financially in the long term. I will elaborate: in changes such as the redefining of habitat to no longer include spaces required for the essential activities of migration and feeding, we no longer meet the needs of migratory species like Rusty Blackbirds or the large areas required for feeding by large predators like Eastern Wolves, Cougars, and Polar Bears. With these needs no longer protected by the law, these species will be at greater risk.

I do not support the removal of species of Special Concern from the official listings. Those species have been identified by scientists and professionals in the field of biodiversity as being potentially at risk for extinction and/or extirpation. Those species need monitoring to prevent their case from worsening. They would not sufficiently receive that support should the government fail to acknowledge the threats they face. Additionally proposed for removal are aquatic and avian species which have federal protection. This would remove protection at the provincial level, and thus could put these species at risk for activities managed on a provincial level, including development of essential habitats, among other things.

Having a healthy environment offers us financial benefits we cannot ignore. Wetlands provide essential flood and drought mitigation, water filtration, and more carbon storage than even forests. Forests provide oxygen, clean the air of pollutants, filter water, store carbon, and return nutrients to soil. Grasslands, among many benefits, provide essential habitat for the pollinators on which most of our world's plants (including the ones we eat) rely on. We cannot exist without our local ecosystems, because we are not separate from them.

And here's the catch: these ecosystems are like a Jenga tower. Each species plays a role in keeping everything functioning properly, or keeping the tower upright. When we lose a species to extinction or extirpation, the tower will be weakened and if we lose too many species all at once, or even just a few of the most essential, the whole thing comes crashing down. We lose the entire ecosystem, all that biodiversity, and all those benefits.

In identifying, protecting, and restoring our species at risk, we are not only protecting ourselves and our economy; we are also protecting what makes Ontario unique and beautiful. Ontario is home to a vast variety of ecosystems found nowhere else in the world. We have the only stretch of Carolinian forest in all of Canada, the rarest ecosystem in the entire country. We have an abundance of freshwater ecosystems in our lakes, rivers, wetlands, and aquifers. We have grasslands, boreal forest, and tundra. We are home to one of the last remaining old growth forests of Eastern North America. Our province is remarkable, and absolutely worth protecting to the very best of our abilities.

The proposed changes here do not reflect the best of our abilities. I know this because the laws protecting our species at risk were once stronger. For the sake of beautiful things, biodiversity, our economy, and our survival, I suggest we do better.