The province of Ontario just got rid of the Endangered Species Act, that means 106 species considered to be at absolute risk, have lost any provincial protection.

Why? In order to pave the way for swift resource development and mining on First Nations land in Ontario’s north. Under Bill 5, which is now the law, special economic zones have been created - where mining companies can come in and it is the ‘wild west’ in terms of development. No environmental protections or assessments. Ontario said it needed to pass this bill in order to shore up the Canadian economy quickly as a result of tariffs placed on Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump.

This filters down to no provincial protection for woodland caribou, barn owls, fish, turtles. This is beyond shameful.

Think for a moment. This is just what loss of protection means for the animals.

What will the removal of environmental assessments, protections and policies mean for people?

A coalition of environmental groups, including the Wildlands League and Environmental Defence Canada, have come together to try and stop this in court. But how many species will be lost before the case is heard?

Article on the loss of the Act from The Narwhal by Leah Borts-Kuperman, posted below.