Hello, I am a 20 year old…

Hello, I am a 20 year old student attending Sir Sanford Fleming College in the Fish and Wildlife program. In the time I have been at this school in this program, (I am in my last semester), we have learned nothing but conservation, and protection of our species. We understand how IMPORTANT and NECESSARY our species are to our ecosystems (plant and animal) and to the public as a whole. Whether it be protecting the biodiversity in the environment that connects to the game species the public love so much, protecting native species or protecting the habitat of these species, these are all crucial to the survival of our listed species - all which could be compromised if we leave room for delay in protection to please businesses.

Management plans as well as recovery strategies for species is IMPERATIVE for the conservation of our endangered and threatened species. Yes, development of the economy and giving people jobs is important, but we must not throw aside or delay assessing habitat needs, or threats to the species merely to please the time limit of development. If pressure is coming from other forces to speed things up we should not delay protection/recovery/management practices, but find ways to speed up the process of dealing with these species needs, habitat assessments, minister conclusions/publications etc. I understand that these processes take time which is the main reason that this act is under review, but the answer is NOT doing things that may put these species at risk of moving to a higher conservation title.

I also believe that the Protection and Recovery of Species section 9 and 10 should NOT be touched. Nor should the other sections and subsections of this act. What should you do then you ask? Try to get a more efficient system of protection rather then delaying the system. You should not be putting business before the environment. As a person that will be around a lot longer than you I am concerned about the future of the planet. I always hear "not in my lifetime" and " It's not my problem because it doesn't affect me" well what about your future generations? Your kids kids? Young adults my age are the future and we want to work with the government to ensure a safe and enjoyable future but constantly ignoring our opinions and concerns and only pertaining to the "right now, right here" way of thinking is doing more damage than you think. We must also look at the bigger picture here and not be ignorant to what is happening around us.

We are constantly losing species and more and more species are being listed as special concern, threatened, endangered, extirpated, extinct. I know this because I see it everywhere, more and more facebook articles, the way the other species and the environment reacts to declining species. I am constantly reviewing case studies in my classes here at Fleming and I am tired of coming to the conclusion that the government is not taking this, or any other environmental issue for that matter, seriously. CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL and you can no longer ignore it, look around you the evidence is everywhere. We are the future, and pushing these concerns aside for "right here, right now" issues is going to affect us - yes, as I have previously mentioned, right here and right now IS important but you cannot ignore the bigger picture. You may not think it will be in your life time, but people have been saying that for quite awhile now and it is only a matter of time.

Please make wise choices. For your kids and future generations, we must take care of this planet - and everything in it.