From the Office of Ontario Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller
(A Brief Foreword from Doug Draper, NAL – Gord Miller, in my view, is one of themost important and insightful environmental watchdogs we have in this province. A government appointee, he has nevertheless been fearless in his mission to challenge the government when best evidence shows more can and should be done to protect and preserve Ontario’s water, air and other natural resources. The following is a significant statement by Gord Miller and one that anyone who cares about preserving what is left of the wildlife around us from urban sprawl, pollution and other stresses on our environment should take seriously enough to get engaged in what is going on at the municipal and provincial levels of government.)
The eastern wolf, one of Ontario’s most majestic carnivoers, is in danger of disappearing forwever do to our encroachment on their habitat and to many of us not wanting them around.
Toronto, November 6th, 2013 – In a special report to the legislature, Laying Siege to the Last Line of Defence, Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner warns that new regulation changes under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) threaten the protection of the province’s species at risk.
The ESA prohibits the harming, harassing or killing of endangered and threatened species, or the destruction of their habitat. Now, the regulation exempts proponents of many activities from the requirement to have a permit “By eliminating the permit process, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has shed its ability to say ‘no’ to a proposed activity, no matter how harmful it may be to an imperilled species,” says Commissioner Miller. “And since proponents don’t have to file any monitoring reports with the ministry, MNR will be blind to the effectiveness of its new rules.”
The Environmental Commissioner says that MNR has been evading its responsibilities since the ESA came into effect in 2008. “The Ministry had five years to ensure that 155 recovery plans were completed for species at risk, but nearly half of them have been delayed, often with dubious explanations. Rather than doing its job, MNR brought forward new regulations that strike at the very heart of the law.”
Miller says it’s wrong to blame the law for the failure of species protection in Ontario. “The fault lies entirely with the Ministry of Natural Resources. MNR has been stalling recovery strategies, delaying habitat protection, mismanaging the permitting process, and deliberately ignoring public participation.”
We are in danger of losing the monarch too – another victim of habitat desruction and our decision, for whatever reason, to eradicate milk weed plants, a major source of nourishment for these beautiful insects.
The Environmental Commissioner says the public has lost its rights as well. “Proposals to harm endangered species or their habitats will no longer show up on the Environmental Registry, so the public won’t have any ability to know or comment.” When MNR posted its proposal to change species protection in Ontario, more than 10,000 Ontarians responded.
Miller says Ontario’s efforts to protect species at risk must be guided by three core principles: the Ministry of Natural Resources must actually take responsibility for improving the protection of species at risk; decisions should ultimately lead to the recovery of species; and MNR must genuinely engage the publi
Posted on November 6, 2013 by Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
I released a special report today to the Ontario legislature about protecting our most vulnerable wildlife. This report, Laying Siege to the Last Line of Defence: A Review of Ontario’s Weakened Protections for Species at Risk,
Find the full report at http://www.eco.on.ca/uploads/Reports-special/2013%20Laying%20Siege%20to%20the%20ESA/Laying%20Siege.pdf
For a video summary of this report by Gord Miller, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc5ucjBRrNs&feature=youtu.be .
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
The MNR have quickly earned a reputation for being the most repulsive bunch of useless, anti wildlife creeps. Evading their duties and siding with atrocities like the Short Hills Provincial Park Aboriginal cruel slaughter of quite tame deer are just a couple of reasons the MNR needs to be completely re-staffed with workers who represent what is right for our natural resources rather than trying to destroy what should be their priority. Their prevarication and denial skills are far more superior than the skills they were actually hired for. Dump the butts of these Miserable, Nasty, Repulsive creeps and hire and train people who care.
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The government and the one’s who think killing the wolves will make them more of a MAN , guess what , it just makes you less of a human Being . enjoy mother nature and all she has to give us , God want’s it that way . HE put us on this EARTH to show his LOVE for the animals and for us .
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What … a branch of unionized government employees not doing their job…….What’s next I wonder?
I agree with Patricia, replace them all with people who will make the right decisions and do a good job. Ahhhh if it were only that simple.
Just sayin….
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The black rhino has recently officially been declared extinct. None have been seen since 2006. Can anyone imagine what it would be like to be the last of your kind? Some people just don’t care. What will be next? Elephants? Wolves? Hell, they’re just animals. We are just animals too. It might be better for the world if we became extinct. Humans are causing the greatest number of extinctions in history and we don’t even care. We are a cancer on the planet.
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