View topic - Ont. Enviro Commissioner Special report tomorrow morn.

This report, Laying Siege to the Last Line of Defence: A Review of Ontario’s Weakened Protections for Species at Risk, reviews the Ministry of Natural Resources’ (MNR) implementation of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 over the past five years... as I believe that MNR has a profound responsibility to safeguard our most imperiled species.

I ...raised numerous concerns about potential roadblocks to success, especially the temptation for MNR to misuse the flexibility tools provided in this new law...

...I have been frustrated to see many of my concerns become reality. MNR has stalled in implementing the law at nearly every turn over the past five years...

What I never anticipated, however, was the sweeping scope of the exemptions from the Act for industry introduced by MNR in the summer of 2013. These new exemptions and their potentially disastrous impact on Ontario’s 155 endangered and threatened species are the focus of Laying Siege to the Last Line of Defence.

Ontario. A leader at protecting species at risk.

We live in a province with over 30,000 species of plants and animals. Unfortunately, more than 200 of these species are in trouble. That is why Ontario passed some of the toughest legislation on species at risk in North America. So that future generations can enjoy the wildlife we do today.