Currently, the ESA requires…

Currently, the ESA requires that the Minister consult with an independent expert prior to creating regulations that would jeopardize the survival of a species, or issuing permits for harmful activities that would provide a significant social or economic benefit to Ontario. I strongly disagree that this should be changed. In the area of species at risk and environmental well-being, unbiased, species-at-risk experts must be consulted and respected in order to understand the long-term impact and unintended consequences of new legislation and regulations

Decisions around species-at-risk must be made by species-at-risk experts and not developers and lobbyists. The Minister should not, nor anyone else, have the ability to suspend species and habitat protections for up to three years based on social or economic considerations.

The Minister would be able to limit ESA protections so that they apply only in specific geographies or under specific circumstance. The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario should be required to base its assessments on the status of a species in Ontario and not throughout its range. This is especially important where a southern Ontario endangered species at the northern limit of their range may receive less or no protection, depending on their status outside Ontario. This is especially concerning in the face of climate change because healthy species populations are needed at their northern limits to help species adapt to changing climatic conditions.

I understand the importance of development and economic sustainability, but we lose biodiversity we are losing other economic gains. The environment should not be footing the bill for development.