Ontario Nature to appeal court decision on species at risk exemptions

We will not let nature down

Letter to Ontario Nature members from executive director Carolyn Schultz

Ontario’s gold-standard Endangered Species Act (ESA) is something that I know you care deeply about. I also know that you share my deep disappointment with Ontario’s Divisional Court upholding a provincial regulation that exempts many industries from the protection of the ESA and allows them to kill species at risk and destroy their habitat.

I’m writing to you today in the spirit of hope and determination. Our legal counsel at Ecojustice has identified grounds for an appeal of the court’s decision. Ontario Nature’s Board of Directors has unanimously and enthusiastically approved our continued fight for justice for endangered species. This news has galvanized us in our commitment to be a strong voice for nature. We will not let nature down.

I invite you to continue to stand with us as we appeal to a higher court and use every tool at our disposal to be nature’s voice, wherever and whenever nature needs us most. We are not giving up!

For more information or to contribute financially to the higher court appeal, please visit our website (ontarionature.org), comment on our blog (ontarionature.org/connect/blog), or contact member relations at 1-800-440-2366 extension 233.

On behalf of the woodland caribou, and all the other vulnerable or at-risk species, thank you!