Friends of The Spit oppose…

Friends of The Spit oppose the proposed “new regulations to enable use of the Species at Risk Conservation Fund (the Fund) and to establish a provincial agency to administer the Fund”. We also oppose the proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 242/08 purported “ to streamline Endangered Species Act authorizations by amending certain conditional exemptions.”
Friends of the Spit is an all-volunteer advocacy group, established in 1977, to advocate for the entire Leslie Street Spit and Baselands [portions of which are Tommy Thompson Park] (in Toronto) to be a car-free urban wilderness. Since 1982, Friends of the Spit has interacted with the Metropolitan and Region Conservation Authority, and its successor, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), to work with that organization to ensure these goals were met.
The Spit/Tommy Thompson Park (TTP) is home to a number of Species at Risk. As well, Species at Risk which nest further north use The Spit/Tommy Thompson Park as a critical resting and feeding location as they continue their migration. These species need protection throughout the province, not only at select locations.
We agree with the arguments against these proposed changes voiced by Ontario Nature, FLAP Canada, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) . These proposed changes are retrograde and detrimental to Species at Risk.
We ask that these proposals be set aside, and that any strategy subsequently put forward occur with the participation of knowledgeable non-government organizations such as Ontario Nature and CELA.