Together We Can Overturn Bill 5

On June 4, the Government of Ontario passed Bill 5 despite the objections of Indigenous groups, diverse civil society organizations and tens of thousands of Ontarians.

More than 100 national, provincial and local organizations, including many Nature Network groups signed our joint letter opposing the replacement of the Endangered Species Act. Ontario Nature’s Bill 5 petition to Premier Ford was signed by more than 20,000 Ontarians. On May 22 and May 26 numerous groups presented to Standing Committee opposing Bill 5, including Ontario Nature. On June 3, with seven other diverse groups, we issued a joint media release calling for Bill 5 to be withdrawn. This is incredible opposition in a short period of time.

Now the hard work to overturn these disastrous legislative changes begins. In the coming days and weeks, we will be engaging with our partners, including the Nature Network, to identify collective actions we can take to save Ontario’s precious biodiversity.

Stewardship Members Take to the Street in Protest of Bill 5

Many Nature Network and other community groups showed their opposition to Bill 5. One of the first of these was the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council.

This year the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council celebrates an important milestone, our 30th anniversary. Little did we know that we would mark this event by protesting Bill 5! We acted quickly and voiced our dissent through letters, petitions and the media to inspire action. On May 14, in front of local MPP Ric Bresee’s office in Napanee, about 30 citizens embraced their constitutional right to protest. With posters we stood in solidarity with hundreds of organizations in opposition to this threat to not only our natural heritage, but to democracy itself.  We presented our research and reflections on the Bill to a gathering of the Friends of Napanee River who heard our resounding cry – The hard work to overturn Bill 5 starts today.

Article by Marilyn Murray and Susan Moore, Lennox & Addington Stewardship Council, photo by Susan Moore.

Join our 94th Annual General Meeting

Our members are the heart and soul of Ontario Nature and we invite you to join our virtual AGM, which will be a Zoom video conference on Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

Our new Executive Director, Andrés Jiménez Monge, will be speaking about our collective achievements from the past year and our vision for the year ahead. In addition to our nature quiz, we will be doing a Q&A with Andrés. Please submit your questions when you register. During the meeting, we will present our Audited Financial Statements, elect board members.

To confirm your attendance, please register now. 

We will email the meeting agenda and the Zoom link to join by video conference or phone prior to the AGM.

We look forward to you joining our Board of Directors, staff and other members to celebrate our shared conservation successes, reflect on the past year and set the course for the year ahead. 

While we welcome anyone to attend our AGM, only those with a current membership or acting on behalf of their Nature Network group can vote. If you need to renew your membership or would like to join us, please visit ontarionature.org/membership.  

Volunteers invited to July 19 shoreline clean-up in Kincardine

The Lake Huron Coastal Centre and Huron Bruce Nature are partnering to host a volunteer shoreline clean-up of Station Beach in Kincardine, Saturday, July 19th from 10 am to noon. A free BBQ lunch will be provided for volunteers.

Buckets, grabber sticks and gloves will be provided. Volunteers are invited to bring their own materials, a re-fillable water container and to dress appropriately. Helpers will work in small teams to remove litter. Every item is recorded on a special tally card and at the end, the trash is weighed. All data is submitted to the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

To pre-register go to, www.lakehuron.ca/beachcleanup.

Article and photo by Christine Roberts, Huron Bruce Nature

Before You Go 

• Check out this article from The Narwhal summarizing some of the key problems and opposition to Bill 5, including Indigenous rights.
• Sponsorship intentions and youth expression of interest for our September 12-14 Youth Summit are being accepted.
• The Northern region of our Nature Network is in need of a regional councillor. If you are involved in a nature network group in the north and want to represent your region with Ontario Nature, this may be for you!
• Submit your volunteer needs to our volunteer board by June 25 for inclusion in the July volunteer newsletter.

Events 

See our events calendar for a complete listing of events organized by Ontario Nature and Nature Network groups.

To submit your public events to our online calendar, email them to noahc@ontarionature.org and allow up to a week for posting. Please send only events that are open to the public and no more than three per month.