The following comments are…

The following comments are submitted by the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation (LBHF), a land trust located within the Township of Lake of Bays in the District Municipality of Muskoka.

LBHF is a community-based, not-for-profit organization committed to protecting the natural, and community heritage of Lake of Bays region. As a land trust, the LBHF encourages the protection of our heritage through education, voluntary stewardship, conservation easements, land donations and land acquisitions. LBHF owns and protects 170 acres and 6.5 kilometers of shoreline on the Lower Oxtongue River, a Muskoka Heritage Area and stewards 2 other properties on behalf of the Ontario Heritage Trust.

We believe that the implementation of Bill 5, An Act to enact the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025, to amend the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and to replace it with the Species Conservation Act, 2025, and to amend various Acts and revoke various regulations in relation to development and to procurement, will result in degradation of natural areas that provide ecosystem services to communities and many other benefits.

We strongly endorse the submission of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance and strongly encourage that their 3 recommendations be implemented: namely

First Recommendation:
Any changes to the ESA should ensure that science-based decision making continues to protect the species that contribute to the ecosystem services that are essential for the people of Ontario.
We encourage the Government of Ontario to define species habitat more broadly or implemented the definitions broadly to include all habitat areas critical for the full lifecycle of all species, to ensure that activities which occur outside of core habitat do not result in unintentional death or harm.
We encourage Government of Ontario to define prohibited activities by their potential to cause direct or indirect harm to an individual or species community to ensure that activities which occur do not result in unintentional death or harm.

Second Recommendation
Changes to ESA should ensure that the ability of land trusts and other landowners to conserve lands covered by CLTIP and other similar programs and related policies are not negatively impacted.

Third Recommendation
When considering economic and social benefit in decision making, we recommend that net gain for species and habitats also be included in this approach, to ensure that a strong commitment to species protection and recovery is not eroded.

We also ask that you consult with OLTA representatives to make the necessary revisions to this Bill to ensure that future generations of humans, flora, fauna and other natural components can survive and continue to provide essential ecosystem services to communities and offer the benefits of nature to human health and well-being.

Thank you for respecting our submission.