© Lora Denis
With a federal election on the horizon in October, it’s time to make the conservation of wild species and wild spaces an election issue. If a party candidate comes knocking at your door, consider asking one of the following seven questions. This election, whom we vote for matters more than ever. Not just for our ...
The provincial government is proposing a new approach to getting species off the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) list. And it’s not by addressing threats, preventing further declines or implementing recovery measures. Nothing that involves real, on-the-ground improvements. Rather, it would simply require basing species assessments on how our most vulnerable plants and animals ...
In February 2019, we sounded the alarm about the provincial government’s plans to amend the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA). Well, their proposed amendments are in and it’s worse than we predicted. On April 18, 2019, Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) posted an overview of its proposed changes to Ontario’s ESA. These changes ...
It is interesting how readily nature advocates can be dismissed as tree huggers or bleeding hearts – as if caring about our fellow creatures were somehow improper. Rachel Carson herself was belittled as being too sentimental and emotional – even hysterical – in her fight to raise awareness about the deadly impacts of pesticides on ...
Mountain lion © Jitze Couperus
In its rush to cut “red tape” and ensure Ontario is “open-for-business,” the Government of Ontario is taking a sledge hammer to our environment laws and policies. First it cancelled cap-and-trade, designed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and meet internationally agreed-upon targets to address climate change. Then it dismantled the office of the Environmental ...
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority