(Ottawa) – Today the Ontario government announced that it will review the province’s Endangered Species Act, which is now open for public comment. Its stated goals in this review include to “streamline approvals and provide clarity to support economic development.” In response, Reykia Fick, Forest campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, said:

“The Ford government recently gutted climate change legislation. They fired the watchdog responsible for holding them to account on the environment. Now they are turning their attention to Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. The public must respond quickly and decisively. If we don’t act now, hundreds of endangered animals, plants and other species in this province could die out in the coming years. We must ensure that Ford doesn’t do to endangered species what he has done to climate.”

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For more information, please contact:

Marie Moucarry, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Canada

[email protected] ; +1 (438) 993-6127

View the Ontario government’s news release: https://news.ontario.ca/ene/en/2019/01/ontario-taking-steps-to-improve-the-endangered-species-act.html

The Endangered Species Act review is now open to public comment. The proposal and options for commenting are available here: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/013-4143

Ontario’s Endangered Species Act does not currently apply to forestry operations and other industries: https://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTMzNzgx&statusId=MjAzNDY3&language=en