Christopher Katsarov/Canadian Press Ontario Environment Minister Rod Phillips speaks at a car dealership in Toronto on April 1, 2019.

TORONTO — Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is “misleading” the public about the impact of its changes to the Endangered Species Act, an environmentalist told reporters Tuesday. Ontario Nature’s director of conservation Anne Bell disputes PC MPPs who say their amendments improve the law that protects endangered species. “That is simply not true,” she said at a press conference. “Any MPP that has been saying this is misleading the public. And any MPP who actually believes this nonsense needs to wake up right now.”

HuffPost Canada NDP MPP Ian Arthur, Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosier, Green MPP Mike Schreiner, Ontario Nature's Anne Bell and Windmill Development's Alex Spiegel hold a press conference at Queen's Park on Tuesday.

Bell joined NDP, Liberal and Green MPPs to voice concern about the environmental impacts of the government’s major housing bill. They said the More Homes, More Choice Act, which makes amendments to a slew of environmental laws, will strip protections for endangered animals and make it harder for conservation authorities to prevent flooding. The Progressive Conservative government introduced the law, Bill 108, in May. Bill 108 limits the mandate of conservation authorities and makes sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act. It is expected to pass its final reading and become law by Thursday, when MPPs rise for their summer break. Species become endangered in Ontario when they’re listed by the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO), an independent committee of experts with scientific expertise or traditional Indigenous knowledge. Bill 108 will let a government minister limit protections for endangered species, delay protections for three years after a species is listed and ask COSSARO to reconsider its classifications. It will also let companies pay into a “conservation fund” in exchange for permission to break Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act. That section prohibits killing, capturing, harassing, buying and selling endangered animals. Changes will modernize the law, minister says Environment Minister Rod Phillips said the provision creates a new “opportunity” for developers that want to protect habitats and also fund research. The changes “modernize” the Endangered Species Act, he told reporters Tuesday. “This is still going to remain a science-based process,” Phillips said. “I think it’s an improved act.”

This is still going to remain a science-based process. Minister Rod Phillips

Bell argued that the changes defeat the act’s purpose. “The Endangered Species Act will be a hollow shell of its former self. It will be pretty much useless in addressing the ongoing decline of endangered species.” MPPs at the press conference called on cabinet ministers to pause voting on the bill until more public consultation can be done. The bill is “being rammed through the legislature with little debate or stakeholder input,” NDP environment critic Ian Arthur said. “All of this is at a time when Earth is facing a human-caused mass extinction of species that will only accelerate as the climate crisis grows.”

Minister of Housing Steve Clark told reporters that he did enough consultation. “We’ve been consulting on the housing supply action plan for many months,” Clark said. “We received over 2,000 submissions. Eighty-five per cent of them were from the general public. We’ve had a robust consultation on this bill.” Last week, Clark received two letters asking him to delay implementation of Bill 108. One letter was signed by 80 mayors, city councillors and environmental advocates and the other was signed by 75 scientists.

Canadian Press Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark attend a press conference on Sept. 10, 2018 in Toronto.