Protecting and recovering our province’s species at risk is part of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks’ made-in-Ontario environment plan, “Preserving and Protecting our Environment for Future Generations,” launched in November 2018.

Ontarians are fortunate to live in a province that is filled with clean air, land and water, valuable resources, and an incredible diversity of more than 30,000 species of plants, insects, fish and wildlife. These species and their habitats are found in forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands, grasslands, and other important ecosystems that make up Ontario’s rich biodiversity. While many of these species have stable populations, 243 are listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List due to threats such as habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, climate change and disease. Species that are at risk include birds, fish, mussels, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, plants, and insects, and they occur across Ontario from the southern tip near Point Pelee to the northern edge near Fort Severn. As of January 2019, Ontario has developed and put in place 140 recovery strategies for species at risk in the province.

The Ontario government is currently undertaking a review of the Endangered Species Act to improve protections for species at risk, consider modern and innovative approaches to achieve positive outcomes for species at risk, as well as to look for ways to streamline approvals and provide clarity to support economic development.

The desired outcomes of any proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act are to:

Enable positive outcomes for species at risk

Ensure species assessments are based on up-to-date science

Address multiple objectives for ecosystem management through stewardship and protection activities

Increase efficiencies in service delivery for authorization clients

Streamline processes and provide clarity for those who need to implement the Act

Maintain an effective government oversight role

Endangered Species Act, 2007 came into effect on June 30, 2008. During the past decade of implementing the Endangered Species Act , we have heard what works well and what could work better – for species at risk, conservation groups, the public, Indigenous peoples, and economic development. Since coming into effect, the Act has been criticized for being ineffective in its aim to protect and recover species at risk, for being unclear, administratively burdensome, time-consuming and costly for applicants, and for creating barriers to economic development.

The ministry is particularly interested in hearing ideas in relation to four key areas of focus, as outlined in the Discussion Paper:

Landscape Approaches Listing Process and Protections for Species at Risk Species Recovery Policies and Habitat Regulations Authorization Processes

The government is committed to ensuring that the Endangered Species Act provides stringent protections for species at risk, continuing to work with stakeholders and Indigenous peoples to improve its effectiveness, and modernizing the program based on best practices in other jurisdictions.