Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to the ESA.

I've been reading about the global extinction of species and losses to biodiversity in the May 6th report by the UN International Program on Biodiversity and Ecological Services (IPBES). The report confirms what we read about almost every day, both in the popular media and in scientific studies.

As far as I can see and tell, biodiversity is key to human survival and a world with a future in which our children can enjoy what we enjoy in our world. We know that climate has changed in the past, and species have been extinguished, but most often this has resulted from factors beyond the control of humans.

I find it hard to believe that, given what we know about the importance of biodiversity, and the damage to biodiversity we know that we are already rendering through human activities, the Ontario government can pose changes to weaken our present laws governing the protection of species at risk in our province.

The proposed changes look to me as though they will put species at risk in much greater risk. They sure look to me as though they will make it easier for industry, governments, and developers to destroy habitats of our most vulnerable flora and fauna, sometimes with the payment of a small fee, that would become the cost of doing business.

I don't support the proposed changes that would allow wide ministerial discretion to interfere with the science-based listing process, to suspend and limit protections, and to ignore legislated timelines for policies and reporting.

What the IPBES report and other mountains of evidence call upon us to do is improve outcomes for species at risk. I am surprised that the proposed legislation cannot distinguish between the significance to our future of underwriting and supporting biodiversity as compared to "reducing red tape". I truly hope that our government is able to move beyond slogan driven policy and propose bolder legislation to promote actions that will preserve biodiversity in our province.