Ontario’s new mining bill is a ‘vendetta’ against species at risk: environmentalists

Ontario is moving to gut protections for endangered plants and animals as part of a mining bill, environmental groups say.

Ontario is moving to gut protections for endangered plants and animals as part of a mining bill, environmental groups say, with some calling it the most comprehensive attack on the province’s at-risk species legislation in nearly two decades.

The province disputes that characterization. Yet, policy advocates who reviewed the proposed legislation say the sweeping changes would erode already loosely enforced protections for more than 200 at-risk species, while giving the government greater power over scientists to decide what gets protected.

“This is really the most comprehensive undermining of the (Endangered Species Act) we’ve seen,” said Laura Bowman, a staff lawyer with environmental law charity Ecojustice.

Last week, the province tabled an omnibus bill it says is aimed at speeding up new mining projects. As part of that bill, the government eyes immediate changes to the Endangered Species Act, which it ultimately plans to repeal and replace with a new law.

The process to obtain a permit under the current law is “slow and complex,” the government’s proposal said, and the changes would offer a “reasonable, balanced approach to protecting species in Ontario.”

Environmentalists say there’s nothing balanced about the approach.

The government wants to dramatically narrow what “habitat” means and do away with requirements to create a strategy for how to recover at-risk species. It also appears to give itself greater power over an independent science-based committee to add and remove species from a protected list.

“I don’t think this is a major benefit to any industry. I think… it’s just an irrational vendetta against species that some industrial players are blaming for their delays,” said Bowman.