Ontario Nature Blog

The provincial government has recently announced policy changes regarding land use planning in Ontario. I sat down with Professor Roger Keil, to discuss how land use planning works and how public participation could play a role in protecting the environment by influencing policy decisions.  Keil teaches at the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto, and he researches global suburbanization, urban political ecology, cities and infectious disease, and regional governance. ...

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Some areas undoubtedly merit protection. In Peterborough County (Treaty 20), the lands and waters surrounding Jack Lake (also known locally as Jack’s Lake) are highly valued by First Nations and the local community. Now, mineral exploration and quarrying threaten this ecologically and culturally significant site, which emerged as a priority candidate for protection at community ...

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Although we are uncertain as to the origin of COVID-19, it is conceivable that transmission of a virus from a single bat may have resulted in a series of events that has brought human activity on Earth to a grinding halt. As the world is gripped with the COVID-19 pandemic, attention is drawn to the ...

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Lack of Evidence The government presents no strong arguments or evidence of any kind to support its proposal. It states that the economic consequences are “expected to be neutral to positive” – though again, no information is provided to support even that feeble claim. It is highly unlikely that there would be any big financial ...

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I’ve been working to protect boreal caribou and their habitat for nearly 20 years. I’ve conducted field research, published peer-reviewed papers and talked to thousands of people about the plight of this majestic animal in Ontario. Over the years, boreal caribou have been subjected to an onslaught of legislative and policy decisions that have threatened ...

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