A Submission to Niagara At Large from one fine communications manager, John Hassell, for the not-for-profit environmental organization Ontario Nature
(A short note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper on this one from John and Ontario Nature – Between this news and all of the garbage around Canada’s senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin, and the clown show the Ford brothers are operating in Canada’s largest city of Toronto, I am almost sorry to be home from a vacation in a relatively sane region on the continent in the New England region of Cape Cod Massachusetts.
This image of Woodland Caribou, an endangered species in Ontario and across Canada, is from a David Suzuki Foundation site. We trust that Dr. Suzuki will not mind us coping the image to get this upsetting information out about an Ontario government that is willing to weaken already weak endangered species regulations to gut even more wild space in the province.
This latest news about the gutting of even more of the protections we have left for endangered species in this province of Ontario, Canada, where regulations for protecting species on the worldwide endangered list are already among the weakest in the developed world, is particularly discouraging. I had hoped that the new Liberal premier of this province, Kathleen Wynne, would be a little more of an environmentalist than her God-awful predecessor Dalton McGuinty. But maybe not.
I know there are arguments from developers and exploiters of natural resources for gutting environmental protection laws, but how far do we go in that direction. Don’t we give a shit about saving anything for our children or our grandchildren? Or does everything have to be about raping whoever or whatever for a buck?)
Toronto, May 31, 2013 – The provincial Cabinet announced today May 31st) its approval of sweeping exemptions for industry under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA). Environmental organizations are incensed at the government’s abdication of its responsibility to protect and recover Ontario’s endangered plants and animals.
“This is the first major test of the new Cabinet’s commitment to the environment, and they have failed,” says Dr. Anne Bell, director of conservation and education at Ontario Nature. “They have turned their backs on the province’s most imperilled wildlife, and at a time when the federal government is poised to do the same.”
The new exemptions lower the standard of protection for endangered plants and animals across many industries, including forestry, pits and quarries, renewable energy, hydro, mining, infrastructure development, waste management, and commercial and residential development. They also dramatically reduce government oversight of activities affecting Ontario’s lakes, rivers, forests and wildlife.
“The scope of the exemptions is appalling,” says Amber Ellis, executive director of Earthroots. “The government has caved to industry and turned a deaf ear to all who believe in society’s duty to protect endangered species.”
Among the exemptions is a special five-year exemption for the forestry sector, which leaves forest-dwelling species like the threatened woodland caribou out in the cold. Listed as threatened in Canada in 2000, the woodland caribou has already lost about 50% of its historic range in Ontario and continues to decline, due to industrial activity.
“I guess we’ll need a new animal for the Canadian quarter,” says Dan McDermott, director of the Ontario Chapter of Sierra Club Canada.
“It’s hard to understand how Cabinet could choose to dismantle a law that was passed with broad public acclaim and support from all parties just six years ago,” adds Bell. “Looks like endangered species only had fair-weather friends at Queen’s Park.”
The costs of administering the ESA were one of the factors driving the decision. Environmentalists question, however, the wisdom of Cabinet’s decision even from an economic perspective. A government study in 2009 determined the value of ecosystem services (pollination, carbon sequestration, soil retention, flood control, etc.) in southern Ontario alone at over $84 billion per year.
“Wise management of this asset demands careful government oversight and enforcement of environmental laws and policies, not environmental deregulation,” says Bell. “Society simply can’t afford to continue to lose species and degrade the natural environment.”
For more information, please contact:
John Hassell, Communications Manager, Ontario Nature: 416-444-8419, ext. 269; cell: 416-786-2171; johnh@ontarionature.org.
Dan McDermott, Sierra Club Ontario Chapter Director; cell: 416-873-3852; dmcd@sierraclub.ca.
Dr. Anne Bell, Director of Conservation and Education, Ontario Nature; cell: 416-659-2339; anneb@ontarionature.org.
Ontario Nature protects wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. It connects thousands of individuals and communities with nature through conservation groups across the province (charitable registration #10737 8952 RR0001). For more information, visit www.ontarionature.org.
Earthroots is a grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection of Ontario’s wilderness, wildlife and watersheds, through research, education and action. Earthroots acts on behalf of its supporters across Canada and empowers thousands of people each year to advocate for better environmental protection. For more information, visit www.earthroots.org.
The David Suzuki Foundation is a national charitable organization that uses science-based education and advocacy to catalyze social change and spur a more sustainable future www.davidsuzuki.org.
(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)
Niagara At Large 
For me and everybody I care about, this is the most devastating news.
There must be some sane and educated philanthropists who will immediately purchase air time to use as an attempt to bring down every politician who participated in this unbelievable atrocity. Knowing what we know in this day and age about how many species are now extinct it is absolutely unfathomable that the direction is to lose more rather than to at the bare minimum, triple efforts to protect those in danger of leaving our planet forever.
Greed and stupidity must not be allowed to devastate what we have left. The root of decisions such as this is partially entwined with overdevelopment that rapes nature. Being someone who has been labeled “anti progress” I feel that I need to correct this label by mentioning that I am “anti stupidity” and suggest that reclaiming and reusing areas that have already been ruined by industrialization should first be recycled…as a law…before any consideration is given to ruining another wild or still natural site. Truly, look around and notice commercial lots no longer used just sitting there empty and deserted, ugly as sin and ask why some modifications that require no further ruination of nature can be made to make that a site for the next commercial or industrial development?
If the tax dollars are not available to save the endangered, then damn well make them available by reworking every budget. Stop giving huge tax breaks and outlandish incentives to those who are responsible for pillaging our planet and are quite financially able to contribute to saving our planet! Cut honorariums, living allowances and other over-the-top expenses that politicians should incarcerate themselves for even accepting. When someone is elected to care for their electorate, human, non-human, flora and fauna, then it should be an indictable crime to fail to do so. Shame on everyone and anyone who has agreed to even consider “sweeping exemptions for industry under the endangered species act” or anything that further endangers any flora or fauna.
This decision now makes it “open season” on destroying anything that gets in their way. Honestly, how uneducated and lobotomized does someone have to be to actually be in favour of actively being part of opportunities that will cause rather than cease senseless extinction? Do they not understand what the word “extinction” means?
How about we consider making the opportunity extinct for those who voted for this by never allowing them to be in a position where they get to vote any more…elections can do that! Any and all loyalties, to any callous political figure having any part in this horrific decision, must be severed until those put in a position of trust to do the right thing learn how to do the right thing! Again, I implore everyone financially able to assist in funding a massive media campaign that will begin and continue until this “wrong” is made “right” before the finality of further extinction occurs.
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Corporate rule is hostile to the imperatives of biodiversity.
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Why are we surprised? Ontario’s Liberal Government abandoned another endangered species long ago: satisfied Ontario voters!
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If we want to save the enviroment we have to make people believe it tastes like CHICKEN and to all the conservatives there is a BUCK in it !! We have the best tool to fight this and it is at your finger tips . BLOG — BLOG — BLOG. !!!!! Thanks Patricia Fitzpatrick Naylor—– Thanks Mark Talio —– Thanks Gary Screaton Page—– And most of All Thanks Doug Draper !!!
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Okay, so when governing idiots do bad stuff it is not surprising, but this time it is not just horrible for those of us now living. It is unthinkably horrific for those to come. I do still believe, against all of the current evidence that I should not,, that our world can go on. We must keep fighting for it. We need to have some control over who we elect and some control over how to get rid of the elected who can’t do what’s right. While I may be far from stupid I am also far from being intelligent enough to figure this one out. There is no shame in knowing that out there will be people smarter than me who can begin to rectify these issues. Let’s waste no time identifying the heroic!
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I Myself was not the smartest person in class , but I always felt I was the smartest person in the dumb row ! The People we have to appeal to our not the smart grown ups with an agenda . But the youth who have more to gain by their efforts to persaude their parents to wise up and listen to what THEY think and Know is truly important —- Economics with the Enviroment and not Economics regardless of the Enviroment ! If we can reach their hearts and minds to cherish All living creatures and that we have to accomadate their needs in order that they survive and thrive ! We can start by providing them with pocket money picking weeds from our lawns and gardens . We can surround our schools with natural habitat that they have a hand in creating and maintaining ! We should have year round school – in the warmer months our creeks and streams should be outdoor education centres where through “boi engeneering ” they learn to create natural habitat that prevents top soil loss and buffers from land uses that harm our water quality . Considering there would be profit realized in clean water , saving billions in lost top soil and less bricks and mortar because the classrooms our outside , with the same school taxes we pay we could probably pay the kids a few bucks in a learn to earn atmosphere .
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There goes the Fowlers Toad in Crystal Beach/ Hello, Condo UGH!
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Unfortunately, corporations have plenty of smart people on the payroll who are very good at lies and deceit.
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The Liberals are doing this?
Gee, I was just starting to believe that it was only conservatives that were the heartless ones.
Who would’ve thunkit?
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When are we ever going to learn? I’ve watched the deterioration of our society due to cutbacks and cost saving measures over the past 30 years but cutting back on inspectors and people who take care of endangered species all across Canada is simply shooting ourselves in the foot. Each species we allow to ‘disappear’ becomes a bigger stain on our collective consciousness. Is it not time we all stood up and said ‘Enough!’? Make your anger at this kind of nonsense heard and felt. Vote administrations who believe this is the proper way to deal with our animal and plant populations out of power whenever given the chance. Take this cause higher than just yourself. Write your MP or MPP or even the ‘clown’ who keeps his thumb on our necks at every possible turn (Stephen Harper). They all deserve an avalanche of protest in regard to this problem. It is high time to stand up and help save what little we have left. Continuing down this path will damn us in far more ways than one. Make your displeasure heard loud and with a resounding roar…
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The provincial and federal governments don’t support the preservation of our built heritage; plants and wildlife are an important part of our heritage too ! — this is another nail in the coffin of Ontario’s heritage.
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I have to believe that if a poll were conducted on this issue, the results would be a resounding NO to this legislation.
Now seeing as we live in a democratic society shouldn’t we, the people, be directing our government and the government in response listening to our demands.
As the days go by and the antics (the ones we know about) of ALL levels of government become public knowledge, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we do NOT live in a democracy but rather a dictatorship whereby one party by virtue of order of elimination is selected to reign power over us.
We need mandate driven politics. Definition – A party is selected by clearly indicating the legislation it wishes to pass. Once it completes its’ mandate or 4 years go by, it is time for an election. I am sick and tired of these parties getting elected on a platform and then they go off and execute a bunch of other stuff that is not consistent with the wishes of the populace.
That’s the way it would be in the world of Greg…..
Just sayin…….
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We are facing ever-increasing democratic tyranny at the hands of ever-increasingly autocratic governments. It is time to demand new laws protecting the country and its citizens such as: http://newsalertniagara.blogspot.ca/2013/05/protection-from-government.html
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