Doug Ford government is…

Doug Ford government is setting a dangerous precedent!

After the Greenbelt scandal, Premier Doug Ford said he had “heard us loud and clear” and called it a “mistake” to touch protected lands. Yet here we are again. Bill 5, the so-called Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is now paving the way for fast-tracked development in Wasaga Beach, removing protections from nearly one-third of its provincial park: over 645 acres of wetlands, dunes, forests, and public beaches.

This area is critical habitat for endangered species like the piping plover, eastern whip-poor-will, monarch butterfly, barn swallow, eastern hog-nosed snake and the hill’s thistle, but changes to the Endangered Species Act under Bill 5 have removed key protections, pushing these species closer to extinction and damaging fragile ecosystems that millions of Ontarians value.

If this proposal proceeds, it will deepen the climate and ecological crisis today’s youth will inherit. Ontario is already off track to meet weakened climate targets. Over 70 per cent of southern Ontario’s wetlands have been lost to development, draining vital carbon sinks. Wetlands like Wasaga’s store carbon, filter floods, and protect biodiversity, so when destroyed, they release carbon, worsen flooding, and heighten climate risks. We can still reduce the damage by protecting nature now.

This must Stop!