kingston joins opposition to planned changes to environmental laws
proposed replacement of ontario's endangered species act and the creation of special economic zones could threaten species already on the brink of extinction and strip local communities of decision-making power, kingston city councillors say
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a map turtle suns itself along the shore of the inner harbour in kingston, ont. on friday, june 3, 2022.
elliot ferguson/the whig-standard/postmedia network
elliot ferguson
/
the whig-standard
kingston — city council joined the chorus of opposition to proposed changes to provincial environmental protection laws.
ontario’s bill 5, the protect ontario by unleashing our economy act, would scrap the endangered species act and create a series of special economic zones where developments from “trusted proponents” would be fast-tracked.
the bill has been criticized by environmental groups that say it does away with decades of protections for endangered species and their habitat.
“for nearly 20 years, ontario’s endangered species act has been a cornerstone of environmental protection. it requires a species at risk and the habitats they rely on be protected from harm,” said collins-bayridge district coun. lisa osanic, who put forward a motion calling on city council to oppose the bill.
“but bill 5 will repeal the esa and replace it with the weaker, hollowed-out act called the species conservation act. this new act is so narrow, it will virtually ensure the continued decline and extended extinction of the species it’s supposed to protect. bill 5 will amend the endangered species act to make it optional, not mandatory, to list the species at risk.
“the bill also redefines what qualifies as habitat, which could limit the areas protected for vulnerable species and lead to even more habitat loss,” she said. “the remaining landscape could resemble basically a moonscape without regulation, even harassment of at-risk wildlife would be unregulated.”
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kingscourt-rideau district coun. brandon tozzo also said the provincial government has not consulted first nations about the proposed changes.
“the first nations community is being railroaded by this when it comes to economic development,” tozzo said. “i think this is a perfect example of a government paying lip service when it comes to reconciliation, but when economic push comes to shove, they’re not really walking the walk.”
sydenham district coun. conny glenn said the work city staff has done in developing new zoning and official plan bylaws could be tossed aside if the provincial government decides to create a special economic zone locally.
“we could have one of these in kingston and have no ability to say what gets built and how,” glenn said.
“i understand the challenges that developers face with permits, and yes, they are slow and expedition of permitting, i think, it’s something that we do need to look at,” glenn said. “but this is like taking a sledgehammer to an issue rather than a fine precision instrument to figure out how we can make it work better.”
bill 5 is expected to go before the legislature early next month prior to queen’s park recessing for the summer.
elferguson@postmedia.com
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