Additional time required to publish the Government Response Statement for Black Ash under the Endangered Species Act, 2007

Ontario provides protections for species at risk and their habitats under the Endangered Species Act, 2007.

On September 6, 2022, we published the final Black Ash recovery strategy. This triggered the requirement under the Endangered Species Act to develop and publish a government response statement for this species by June 6, 2023. However, this deadline does not apply if a notice is published, indicating that:

• additional time is required to prepare the statement
• the reasons for requiring additional time
• an estimate of when the statement will be published

This notice is to inform the public that we require additional time to complete the government response statement for Black Ash due to:

• the complexities associated with the protection and recovery of the species and the need to balance managing the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (the key threat to the species) and the social and economic realities of Ontario

Because of these complexities, we also needed additional time to analyze the recommendations provided in the recovery strategy and obtain and consider input from the public, stakeholders and Indigenous communities before preparing a proposed draft policy.

We estimate that the final government response statement for Black Ash will be published by January 25, 2024.