An environmental group has raised concerns about the impact of Ontario’s Bill 5 on the future of polar bears in the province. The Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act repeals the Endangered Species Act in Ontario and introduces the Species Conservation Act. Shane Moffat, the conservation campaigns and advocacy manager at Ontario Nature, argues that the new legislation provides weaker protections for endangered species like polar bears. Moffat highlighted that under the previous law, the province was required to develop recovery plans for at-risk species and prevent harm to their habitats. However, with the passage of Bill 5, these protections may no longer be guaranteed.
Bill 5 also allows the cabinet to establish “special economic zones” where projects, such as mining or transportation infrastructure, can bypass provincial laws and municipal regulations to expedite projects deemed crucial to the economy. In Ontario, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 polar bears residing along Hudson Bay. Amy Baxendell-Young, the manager of the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat in northern Ontario, expressed concerns that granting unrestricted development rights to mining companies near Hudson Bay could harm polar bear habitats. She emphasized that climate change poses the most significant threat to the polar bear population in Canada, as melting sea ice impacts their hunting abilities and den-building in peatlands.
Alexandru Cioban, spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation, and Parks Todd McCarthy, stated that the new Species Conservation Act aims to establish stringent environmental safeguards for businesses while enhancing species conservation efforts. The legislation includes a $20 million annual investment in a comprehensive species conservation program. The Species Conservation Act will continue to rely on the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario to classify species as extirpated, endangered, or threatened, with a focus on preventing activities that could lead to species extinction in the wild within Ontario.
