A review of this act needs…

A review of this act needs to focus on the at-risk species not development. It is, after all, a piece of legislation designed to PROTECT animals not make it easier to cause their extinction in the name of progress.

It would be disingenuous to suggest developing in environmentally sensitive areas will help with the housing crisis in Ontario and I hope this will not be the tactic used by the government in this review. There are vacant warehouses, schools and other buildings languishing across this province. Before we destroy habitat we should repurpose the already developed areas available to us.

I further hope this review does not suggest 'cutting red tape' is more important than taking the time to fully assess the damage a development project could cause in regards to our wildlife. Complaining about paper work in the face of losing a species permanently is not a valid argument, it's an excuse.

What we must all understand is extinction is final. While the profit margin may be smaller on turning a school into lofts over building on currently protected land, there is no amount of money that can reverse death.