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Hello ,
When the government holds a press conference in the afternoon before a long weekend, the news is unlikely to be good. Indeed, today Minister Rod Phillips (Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks) announced proposed changes to Ontario’s Endangered species Act.
As we feared, these changes would effectively allow the government to ignore the pressing need to save Ontario’s most vulnerable plants and animals.
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If the changes go through,
- Species listed as threatened or endangered may no longer be automatically protected.
- The Minister will have discretion to interfere with the listing of at-risk species at his convenience, bringing politics into the listing process.
- Developers and other proponents of harmful activities will be able to “pay-to-slay” by paying into a fund to compensate for harming species at risk and their habitats (rather than providing an on-the-ground overall benefit to species).
- Southern Ontario species at the northern limit of their range may receive less or no protection, depending on their status outside Ontario.
These moves are regressive and dangerous. The world is facing the largest mass extinction since the dissappearance of the dinosaurs. Yet the Government of Ontario has proposed to gut Ontario’s gold standard law, bowing to pressure from industry and sprawl developers.
We will continue to do everything possible to protect at-risk plants and animals in Ontario. We hope you will continue to stand with us. We will be putting out an Action Alert shortly with a detailed analysis and a request for people to sign in the days to come. Please stay tuned.
In the meantime, if you wish to express your immediate outrage, please contact your local Member of Provincial Parliament.
Have a relaxing and happy long weekend. We can gear up for a fight next week.
Sincerely,
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