Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the 10th Year Review of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act: Proposed changes, ERO number 013-5033. I look forward in seeing improvements to the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and ensure a balanced approach between a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

In order to avoid catastrophic socio-economic impacts, the most important action the government must take is a permanent recognition of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA) as an equivalent process to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) through a permanent Section 55 Regulation. The CFSA already provides landscape, stand, and site-level direction for managing, conserving, and protecting species at risk. Having two acts attempting to accomplish the same outcome represents the single greatest piece of red tape and duplication to the forestry sector. The former government recognized that the CFSA and the ESA cannot be harmonized (through proposed section 18) and; therefore, provided a workable, temporary solution that was defended in court. We are asking the Ford Government to take this workable, temporary solution and make it permanent.