Ontario’s Endangered Species Threatened, Again

Ontario, October 24, 2024 – The Government of Ontario’s recent weakening of the Endangered Species Act and associated regulations has raised concerns. The changes made to the legislation undermine the Act’s purposes of science-based identification of species at risk, protection of those species and their habitats, and promotion of their recovery.

The legislative changes enacted by the government over the past five years will have devastating consequences for biodiversity. A recent example is exemptions for harming black ash, an endangered tree species with cultural significant to Indigenous Peoples. Similarly, American ginseng was downlisted from endangered to threatened despite warnings from experts on this reassessment.

By allowing for increased exemptions and weakening protections, the government is prioritizing the interests of developers ahead of the people of Ontario leading to urban sprawl and threatening vulnerable ecosystems.

Our planet already faces increasing threats from climate change, and Ontario’s most vulnerable species continue to decline. Today, on International Day of Climate Action, Ontario Nature is calling on the government to strengthen legislation to protect species at risk. The government must uphold its responsibility to safeguard them and restore an effective, science-based regulatory regime for their protection. Protecting endangered species is not red tape.

For more information, visit: ontarionature.org/restoring-ontarios-endangered-species-act-blog.

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Media inquiries contact:

John Hassell, Ontario Nature
Director of Communications and Engagement, Editor
johnh@ontarionature.org, 416-786-2171

Ontario Nature protects wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. A charitable organization, Ontario Nature represents more than 30,000 members and supporters, and 150 member groups across Ontario.

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