The proposed changes of the…

The proposed changes of the 10th Year Review of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act should not be approved. Instead, more changes which highlight direct and practical protections should be considered as amendments to the Act.
Human’s economic progress is important, but not in the sacrifice of the lives and health of other species. Especially here in Ontario, the increasing number of endangered species do not live on a list, they view wild spaces as their homes. However, we don’t, or at least, many stakeholders in the provincial government and the economic sector don’t. The word “endangered” marks an emergency, and in this case, several ones. Our hospital’s emergency room does not start taking care of a patient nine months after they are confirmed to be in a life-threatening condition, so the vulnerable plants, animals and their habitats should not be treated with delayed attention and lack of protection. In addition, the treatment of a patient should not have a quality difference across the province, so the protection of a species should not have varying levels of effectiveness in different regions.
Furthermore, the government needs to consult an “expert prior to creating regulations that would jeopardize the survival of a species, or issuing permits for harmful activities” similar to a hospital needs to hire a doctor to diagnose a patient. All updates should be recorded and the information should be open to the public because we have the right to know anything not-so-confidential as long as we wish to know.
Despite all the precautions, life is full of conflicts, so it is understandable that other laws may come into conflict with the ESA. However, ask the Ontario citizens, especially the youths, and they will likely say: the future (supposedly re-amended not with the current proposals) ESA should be the top, top priority!