I would like to thank the…

I would like to thank the committee for considering this submission.

It is clear that this legislation is ill-considered, not grounded in science and is highly detrimental to species at risk in Ontario.

We have seen what happens when governments enact legislation without due care and when scientific expertise is undervalued. Witness the regulatory failure in Walkerton where seven people died and thousands were sickened.

It is clear that there is no justification for this highly consequential legislation to be fast tracked. It includes too many changes to be properly analysed in a short period of time and we need to assess the impact on a wide range of issues such as: a) the recovery plans for endangered species; b) habitat protections that will be imperiled; c) a general lack of expert/scientific input on future developments; d) coordination with cities and towns when projects are no longer subject to existing municipal codes; and e) inadequate consideration of constitutionally mandated indigenous consultation with respect to the legislation and future projects.

It is true that there is economic uncertainty due to U.S. tariffs and the threat of tariffs. This is not a sufficient rationale for this legislation. We need to consider the impact of human-caused climate change and its implications for biodiversity, indigenous and non-indigenous communities, water quality and sustainable growth and development.

This legislation should NOT be fast-tracked. My plea is for the government to: a) break this legislation up into manageable parts; b) re-draft it with the plight of endangered species as a core consideration; and c) and facilitate a transparent, robust, thorough, expert-driven analysis of all its facets before proceeding.