We still need your help to protect the Endangered Species Act!

Bill 5, which contains a provision to eliminate the Ontario Endangered Species Act, has been referred to the province’s Standing Committee on the Interior. The committee has already held one hearing on May 22, and another is set for Monday, May 26.

The proposed replacement act – the Species Conservation Act – would eliminate habitat protections for species at risk and eliminate the mandate for a recovery plan. Only individuals and the immediate nest or den would receive protection, not the surrounding (and vital) habitat. There would be no onus for conservation actions to improve the situation of a species, so that they are no longer “at risk.” Furthermore, although individuals would be protected from being killed, harmed, or captured, protection from harassment would be dropped.

The Standing Committee on the Interior will not receive or consider submissions made to the Environmental Registry (ERO). If you previously submitted comments to the ERO, please forward them to the committee. If you haven’t previously sent a letter, please consider doing so now.

Submissions to the committee must be received by 6 p.m. on Monday May 26.

Please visit this link to send your written submission. Members of the Standing Committee on the Interior are listed here. Click on names to see their contact information.

You can also contact your own MPP to raise your concerns and ask for their support in opposing Bill 5 in its current form.

The Friends of Stittsville Wetlands have put together a great summary of concerns with Bill 5, which they have asked us to share. You can read their post here, and refer to it when writing your submission or letter. You can also read their posts on Facebook or Instagram. Of course you can also read the OFNC’s previous post on the ESA here.

It is up to us to protect our natural heritage – no one is going to save it for us. Please make your voice heard, and please keep speaking up to ensure Endangered Species get the critical conservation and emergency protection they need.

About the photo: The Spotted Turtle is a rare species that has declined throughout its range. It is listed as Endangered not only at both the provincial and federal levels, but also globally. It is protected in every jurisdiction in which it occurs. The loss and fragmentation of wetland habitat – it lives in shallow wetlands which are easily disturbed or drained for agriculture – has been the main driver of this decline, so the wetlands where it still remains need to be protected. Those wetlands tend to be high-quality habitats, so protecting these is a win for the conservation of biodiversity and for retaining the vital ecosystem services of those wetlands. Unfortunately, the Spotted Turtle is also vulnerable to illegal collection, so to protect populations from poaching, specific locations where they occur are generally kept confidential. (If you know where to find these, please don’t post about it on social media.) Without habitat protection, however, it would be impossible to conserve the Spotted Turtles we have. They are just one example out of hundreds of species at risk that illustrate how the proposed changes in Bill 5 will negatively affect biodiversity and conservation. Photo by Jakob Mueller.