Immediate Action Needed to Restore Provincial Wetland Protections in Ontario

Join Ontario Nature in urging the Government of Ontario to restore provincial wetland protections before it’s too late!

A Call-Out to All of Us from Ontario Nature, a non-profit citizens’ group dedicated to speaking out for the protection and preservation of Ontario’s natural heritage

Posted January 22^nd, 2025 on Niagara At Large

Ontario’s wetlands are incredibly valuable for many reasons. 

Wetlands mitigate flooding, store carbon and provide habitat for a diverse range of species, making them significant nature-based climate solution powerhouses. However, these powerhouses need our help now more than ever.

Wetland loss has already exceeded 72 percent in southern Ontario, and losses are ongoing. To make matters worse, changes to Ontario’s planning policy and legislation over the past several years have undermined wetland protection across the province, accelerating wetland loss.

These changes include: 

• 

  A mid-20th Century Neanderthal’s Vision of Ontario’s future, with less than a wit of concern for the climate crises or the value of a healthy ecosystem.

  The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) quietly abandoned their Wetland Conservation Strategy (2017-2030), which provided critical framework of wetland conservation targets and actions, including a goal of halting and reversing wetland loss by 2030. 
• The MNR introduced a new and significantly weakened Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES), making it much harder for many wetlands to achieve and maintain “Provincially Significant” status and the high level of protection it affords.  
• Changes to the Conservation Authorities Act and its regulations in 2020, 2022 and 2024 have significantly undermined conservation authorities’ ability to contribute to environmentally-sound land use planning that protects wetland ecosystems, shrunk their area of jurisdiction adjacent to Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSW) and granted the Minister of Natural Resources additional powers to override conservation authorities’ permitting decisions. 
• Changes to the Planning Act in 2020 specified that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing can use Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) to approve developments that are not consistent with provincial planning policies, which could impede the strict protection of PSWs. 

The new Provincial Planning Statement (2024) leaves more than half of the wetlands classified under the Natural Heritage System of the Growth Plan unprotected and vulnerable to development, as the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe is no longer in effect. 

This change will also remove previously held limits on the extent of greenfield sprawl development.

Provincial wetland protections are divided among multiple ministries and pieces of legislation. The trend in these changes is clear: Ontario’s wetlands have been put at greater risk.

In response, we ask you to please join Ontario Nature in urging the Government of Ontario to fulfil its obligation to conserve vital wetland ecosystems by restoring provincial wetland protections to their prior strength.

Specifically, we are asking the provincial government to: 

• Reinstate and effectively implement the Wetland Conservation Strategy (2017-2030). 
• Restore and strengthen the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES). 
• Restore the planning authority of conservation authorities granted by the Conservation Authorities Act, along with their regulated area adjacent to wetlands, so they can continue to protect wetlands and adjacent areas through environmentally-sound decision-making.
• Implement a moratorium on all new approvals for gravel mining in Ontario until a reliable and objective assessment is conducted to evaluate current licensed operations in relation to industry demands, along with revising the Aggregate Resources Act and associated regulations and policies. 
• Remove the ability to issue Minister’s Zoning Orders where they impact wetlands and other sensitive ecosystems.  
• Restore the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) and the broader protections it provides for wetlands within the GGH. Restore previously held measures to limit the extent of greenfield sprawl development.
• Implement Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the government’s environmental framework and decision-making.

For more on this and to send a letter to the Ontario government expressing your concerns, click on – Join Ontario Nature in urging the Government of Ontario to restore provincial wetland protections before it’s too late! | Immediate Action Needed to Restore Provincial Wetland Protections in Ontario

In Niagara, join the fight to save the provincially significant wetlands off Merritt Road in the Thorold, Pelham, Welland area and in the Thundering Waters Forest in the south west end of Niagara Falls. Continue to let our municipal and provincial government representatives know that we insist on preserving these valuable wetlands for present and future generations.

For more on the Merritt Road wetlands, click on the following link – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2024/04/25/stop-proposed-merritt-road-expansion-in-niagara/

For more on the wetlands of Thundering Waters Forest and the fight to save them, click on – https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/protestors-camp-out-to-defend-thundering-waters-forest-from-niagara-falls-development-1.4246637

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“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders