The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the Endangered Species act are irresponsible, unethical, and will our province in an even worse environmental position than it’s in now.

Allowing developers to pay their way out of compliance is horrendous and dangerous. These are companies that are already devastating local habitats and should be kept to the highest standards of environmental policy.

These changes also do not guarantee that endangered or at risk species will automatically be protected AND allow the Minister to intervene to change the status of a species. That is a gigantic conflict of interest and likely something an elected official is not qualified to do.

In that same vein, allowing non-scientific members of a scientific committee governing these decisions is also completely nonsensical.

In short, these changes gut this act that protects so many species and habitats in our province. In a time when our environmental position is tenuous, these policies should be getting stricter, now easier for corporations to harm what we hold so dear as Ontarians, and Canadians.