With a recent UN report…

With a recent UN report estimating that 1 million species worldwide risk extinction, some of the changes made in this review are irresponsible. Rather than bolster protection for our rapidly declining biodiversity, these changes clearly place the needs of developers and corporate interests above those of the species the act claims to protect.

The inclusion of the "Species at Risk Conservation Trust" is perhaps the most flagrant example of this. In addition to the disingenuous title, it makes no sense from an environmental perspective. Damaging our ecosystems today in favour of some ill-defined, hypothetical benefit in the future is a losing proposition. Once our ecosystems are gone, there's really no way to get them back.

Additionally, the changes laid out in section 2 introduce a number of opportunities for conflicts of interest to arise. Changes here should ensure that the committee of experts has the final say in which species are protected, with minimal opportunity for intervention by the minister or other parties whose interests are counter to the protection of our species at risk.