Fox pups © Carolina K Smith
Stop Bill 5 and Restore the Integrity of the Endangered Species Act
We are in a global biodiversity crisis, with over 230 plants and animals at risk in Ontario. Healthy forests, waters and wetlands that species at risk rely on sustain all Ontarians. Premier Ford’s plan to scrap the Endangered Species Act and create regulation-free zones for industry is a huge step in the wrong direction. The proposal threatens the natural world all around us and puts wildlife at greater risk than ever.
To build a healthy and resilient Ontario, we need a strong Endangered Species Act that protects imperiled species and ensures communities can benefit from natural systems.
Protect and Restore Nature
The Government of Ontario must invest in a climate resilient future that makes Ontario more liveable and prosperous. Our well-being is wholly dependent on the natural world. The incoming provincial government has a significant opportunity to set the course for a resilient future that operates within the limits of the natural world.
Ontario Nature is asking that the government commit to:
- Protecting 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030.
- Restoring and enhancing protections for species at risk.
- Increasing protections for all wetlands.
Reilly Bird Nature Reserve, Community event © Noah Cole
Expand Protected Areas
The Government of Ontario has not committed to protecting 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030 (30×30) despite the Canadian and international commitments. Additionally, Ontario received a failing grade on progress to protect land and water compared to other jurisdictions in Canada.
Expanding protected areas is an important way to halt biodiversity loss and adapt to the effects of climate change. Ontarians overwhelmingly support (86%) the creation of more protected areas. Join us in asking the province to protect more of our lands and waters.
Black Bay Peninsula © Superior Hiking CC BY 2.0
Protect and Restore Wetlands
Wetlands are biodiversity hotspots and climate resilience powerhouses. Yet, the Government of Ontario has repeatedly weakened provincial legislation and policies to protect these ecosystems.
Please ask our decision-makers to protect and restore wetlands in Ontario.
Lake Nipissing shoreline wetlands © Vanessa Denov
Protect Wolf Lake’s Old-growth Forest
Please join Ontario Nature and the Wolf Lake Coalition in urging the Government of Ontario to halt mining activities in Wolf Lake Forest Reserve and add the forest to Chiniguchi Waterway Provincial Park.
This is a golden opportunity to fulfil a decades-old promise and protect a critically endangered ecosystem while contributing to national and international biodiversity goals.
Wolf Lake © Ryan Mariotti
Stop Misusing Minister’s Zoning Orders
The Government of Ontario is quietly setting the stage for development projects to proceed without public consultation or the right to appeal. The recent flurry of Minister’s Zoning Orders is fast-tracking development on farmland and greenspace. Expediting this sort of short-sighted development while keeping Ontarians in the dark does not serve the public interest.
Our focus should be on enhancing community resilience to climate change and potential future pandemics. To do so we must enable and support public participation in determining the future of our farmlands, forests, wetlands and other natural areas. Please join us in demanding greater public accountability and enhanced community resilience to climate change.
Markham © Joe Mabel CC BY-SA 2.0
Impact
You can make an enormous difference and it’s free!
Ontario Nature’s advocates helped with campaigns that led to a conservation plan for the Oak Ridges Moraine, an 80 percent reduction in neonicotinoid pesticides, wetland and woodlot protection, establishment of 2.4 million hectares of new protected areas, and much more.
Oak Ridges Moraine © Jason Kalmbach
Completed Action Alerts
- Stop Highway 413!
2025-01-02 - Conservation Authorities Undermined Again
2024-05-06 - Hold Government of Ontario Accountable for Weakening Species at Risk Protections
2024-02-20 - Proposed Exemption Severely Limits Protection for Endangered Black Ash
2023-11-02 - Species at Risk
2023-08-08 - Sprawl for all – anytime, anywhere? No!
2023-08-04 - Proposed Mining Act Amendments
2023-4-13 - Broken Promises Threaten Ontario’s Greenbelt
2022-12-8 - Bill 23
2022-12-01 - Vote for Nature
2022-07-02 - Provincially Significant Wetlands no longer safe from development
2020-11-03 - Federal intervention needed to protect boreal caribou in Ontario
2022-03-21 - Endangered Black Ash Needs Immediate Protection
2021-11-07 - Vote For Nature
2021-09-21 - Protected Places Declaration
2018-11-06 - MZOs to trump protections for nature and farmland
2021-04-03 - Stop Sprawl and Grow the Greenbelt
2021-04-08 - Stop the Bulldozers: Developers Seeking Permit to Destroy Provincially Significant Wetland
2021-03-15 - Lake Simcoe Protection Plan Review
2021-03-04
- Conservation Authorities Under Fire
2020-12-09 - Procter & Gamble
2020-08-09 - Say No to More Sprawl, Less Nature and Less Farmland
2020-07-31 - Sauble’s piping plovers need you now!
2020-06-25 - Protect species at risk while strengthening the forest industry
2020-06-18 - Share Ontario’s Forests
2020-02-05 - Put nature first in Rondeau Provincial Park
2019-12-18 - Pits and quarries
2019-10-21 - Wolves and coyotes wrongly accused
2019-09-26 - SOS: Save Ontario Species
2019-06-06 - Oppose the senseless slaughter of cormorants
2019-01-03 - Stop Bill 66: Privileging big business over the people of Ontario
2018-12-14 - We the people are for the environment
2018-16-11 - Caribou can’t survive without a place to live
2018-01-10 - Help secure a historic investment for nature protection in Canada
2018-01-18 - Protect our water
2017-12-08 - Guide stronger protection for nature across the Greater Golden Horseshoe
2017-08-22 - Help at risk caribou persist in the Caribou Forest
2017-05-08 - Stand up for the Greenbelt and stop sprawl for good!
2017-03-20