As one species disappears from Ontario, Doug Ford weakens protections for the rest
Amidst the turmoil of tariffs and multiple elections, a small frog previously found in southwestern Ontario is in the last stages of going officially extinct in the province.
For the first and hopefully last time, in 2024, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) reclassified an endangered terrestrial species as extirpated — the Blanchard's Cricket Frog. The federal government is now consulting on making this status official under the Species at Risk Act.
In a twist of fate, the government of Ontario has just announced parallel plans to scrap the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and create 'special economic zones,' where developers and resource companies are exempt from provincial regulations.
If Premier Ford proceeds with these measures, endangered species in Ontario are going to be more reliant than ever on federal protection.
This sets the stage for some tough discussions between the province and Prime Minister Mark Carney's newly-elected government, which has made important commitments to halting biodiversity loss. Not incidentally, Ontarians are among the most enthusiastic for federal action to preserve nature.
That might be because the underlying causes of the colourful cricket frog's decline remain unaddressed. According to COSEWIC, wetland loss is 'the major factor' in its disappearance, while the runoff of pesticides and fertilizers was a 'major contributing' factor. The government of Ontario even agrees.
This situation has been exacerbated by a series of measures in recent years by the Ontario government to dismantle protections for wetlands — protections which not only conserved habitat for wildlife, but reduced the risk of natural disasters, like floods, for people.
If Ontario Premier Doug Ford scraps the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and creates 'special economic zones,'endangered species like the Blanchard's Cricket Frog will be more reliant on federal protection for their survival, writes Shane Moffatt
Ontario is now increasingly an outlier. After Canada successfully hosted and landed a historic 'Deal for Nature' (The Kunming-Montreal Agreement) in late 2022, hopes were high for a new wave of government actions to halt biodiversity loss and respect Indigenous knowledge, while ensuring local benefits from conservation.
Some provinces stepped up to the plate by committing to new protections, investing in conservation and partnering with Indigenous Peoples. In contrast, Ontario has become a laggard, dragging its heels on new protected areas and enacting ' pay-to-slay ' provisions to benefit heavy industry.
Bulldozing endangered species protections in this manner is out of sync with Canadian values, according to recent EKOS polling. Healthy forests and waters sustain all Ontarians, not just endangered species. We all rely on a healthy environment for the air we breathe and so much more.
Premier Ford should be strengthening the existing legislation and learn from what is working well for other provinces when it comes to halting biodiversity loss. There is a lot of innovation and collaboration happening across the country. Protecting and restoring the natural world so that a diversity of life can thrive around us is a multigenerational national project with deep resonance for most Ontarians.
The key is also deceptively simple, according to an important new study of Canadian recovery strategies for species at risk — identify the cause of a species' decline and stop it. That means ending industrial exemptions to harm critical habitats, whether in 'special economic zones' or otherwise. No matter what Premier Ford plans to replace the ESA with, if anything, the government will be judged by how effectively it prevents actions that imperil vulnerable species.
That doesn't mean stopping all development. Far from it. It just means not building warehouses on the wetlands which we depend on just as much as frogs, turtles and beavers do. It means building strong local economies that are in harmony with nature, not in conflict.
We might be able to clone a dire wolf, but we can't clone the healthy habitats we rely on for our own survival. The sooner we start protecting them, the less work we're leaving for future generations to restore them.
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