I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my deep concern and, quite frankly, absolute outrage over your government's proposed, regressive, changes to Ontario's Endangered Species Act.

At a time where it is very, very clear – to anyone who doesn’t have their head in the sand – that species are disappearing at a catastrophic rate, your government chooses to make decisions that set the clock back 100 years. Obliterating the Endangered Species Act, which is essentially what these so-called "amendments" do, wasn't tabled at election time, so why is this being proposed now? I understand it will be easier for developers to bulldoze and contaminate natural habitats, but how do the rest of us benefit from this open season attack on endangered species proposed in Bill 108?

Below is a link to the Ontario Government's own website where it clearly states "more than 200 species of plants and animals are at risk of disappearing from Ontario", right now - today. None of them will be around much longer, thanks to these proposed amendments.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/species-risk-ontario

There is a reason the Endangered Species Act was created in the first place - to protect what little we had left of our biodiversity in Ontario. Nothing has changed in that regard - we still need this Act in its entirety, more than ever.

Allowing developers to "pay to slay" is criminal and a complete disregard of what the majority of taxpayers want (does this government not remember the backlash at election time when Ford was caught promising to open up the greenbelt to developers?). And I certainly do not see the benefit in allowing a Minister, especially someone with no science background and clearly, no regard for the environment in the first place, to have some form of veto power.

Taxpayers don't need leaders trying to run the government like their own private business. We need government leaders with vision. Leaders who understand the long lasting and often irreversible impact of their decisions. Leaders not in the back pocket of a chosen few beneficiaries. Leaders who will protect our land, our water, vital natural habitats and yes, the other species we share it all with - you can't have one without the other.

As the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Rod Philllips is chiefly responsible for protecting and improving the quality of the environment for all Ontarians. He should be championing environmental conservation efforts, not dismantling them. He and his staff should be the first ones arguing against the amendments proposed in this Bill as they are not aligned with the Ministry's purpose.

ALL aspects of schedule 5 pertaining to the Endangered Species Act should be removed from Bill 108. It is shameful that these amendments - a deplorable attack on vulnerable species - are even being tabled in this day and age.