I am extremely disappointed…

I am extremely disappointed in this Government's short-sighted and regressive approach demonstrated in these amendments. Clearly, this so-called review was never intended to "improve" the Endangered Species Act. The public never asked for the review, it was never tabled at the election, and it does not serve the best interests of the general public.

According to the Ministry of Envrionment, Conservation and Parks' own data, there are over 200 species at risk of disappearing in Ontario currently. So it makes absolutely no sense to weaken the current ESA - which these proposed amendments absolutely do.

I vehemently object to the changes being proposed to the ESA. They are not aligned to what the government already understands about the seriousness of species loss or what the entire world understands (per the recent UN statement on the mass extinction taking place right now). We need stronger policies and enforcement, not watered-down Acts that benefit the profitability of select few businesses that are living in the past.

Everyone knows developers and other sectors will have no problem paying a fee to continue archaic, destructive practices to do business. And giving a Minister, without any science background whatsover, veto rights over the scientific community is nothing less than a dictatorship.

The fact that these amendments have been hidden inside a housing Bill is evidence that this review is not and environmental review at all, it is a back-door means of eliminating the Act entirely. Therefore, Schedule 5 of Bill 108 should be removed completely. If a review of the ESA is required, it should be done with complete transparency and with the objective of improving the situation for endangered species, not making it worse.