Many of the proposed changes…

Many of the proposed changes go against the key reasons for having an endangered species act in the first place. The change of having industries pay fees rather than following regulations will completely negate the importance of having regulations to protect endangered species. Many of these industries are large scale corporations that barely batt an eye at paying a fee for something they don’t care about. Having the regulations in the endangered species act is to prevent rich corporations from just paying away their responsibilities towards the environment. This callous thinking and approach to protecting endangered species is an absolute travesty of justice. We are called to protect the vulnerable and fight for a healthier environment which includes protecting biodiversity. This is the same as Alberta’s “wetland protection” where ecologically and hydrologically important wetlands are drained because developers can pay a fee rather to drain protected wetlands rather than just protecting them. This change to the endangered species act is not protection; it is just a greedy money grab from the provincial government. I am appalled that this is being proposed. Furthermore, the proposal that the Minister is deciding whether or not a species can be listed as endangered rather than scientists is ridiculous. The Minister has no formal scientific training and even if they read the best available scientific evidence, I fail to see how they will grasp the intricacies of scientific research and ecosystems above financial gain. The endangered species act is made to protect endangered species, but by giving the final say to a politician the proposed change will become a political leverage point. Endangered species should not be used to gain political leverage, but should be protected on the merit of the ecosystem services and biodiversity they provide in a region. Speaking further on this idea of providing ecosystem services and biodiversity, there is a proposed change to look at a broad geographic area to determine the merit of protecting a species in a specific region. This is not well thought out because individual species can provide unique services and biodiversity improvements to small regions. Considering a broader geographic area outside of Ontario will completely negate the importance of maintaining species habitat within Ontario. I am proud to live in Ontario for it’s amazing natural landscapes and beautifully diverse ecosystems. These proposed changes to the Ontario Endangered Species Act will undoubtably ruin the natural beauty of this province and I am ashamed that this is the best that this government could come up with. I am disgusted by the proposed changes to the act and I strongly encourage the government to reconsider their position on PROTECTING endangered species.