Environmental group says Ontario’s Bill 5 threatens the province’s polar bears

An environmental organization says Ontario’s Bill 5 jeopardizes the future of polar bears in the province.

The Protect Ontario by Enacting Our Economy Act repeals Ontario’s Endangered Species Act and replaces it with a new Species Conservation Act.

Shane Moffat, Ontario Nature’s conservation campaigns and advocacy manager, argues that the new law has weak protections for threatened species like polar bears.

Moffatt said under previous legislation, the province had to develop recovery strategies for threatened species.

“In addition, under the Endangered Species Act, hunting or damaging polar bear habitat was prohibited,” he said.

“With the passage of Bill 5, it looks like that’s no longer likely to happen.”

Bill 5 also gives the Cabinet the power to create “special economic zones”, where projects such as new mines or construction of transportation infrastructure can be exempted from having to comply with any provincial law or regulation, as well as municipal bylaws.

Its objective is to rapidly advance projects of national importance to the economy.

In Ontario, 800 to 1,000 polar bears live along the Hudson Bay.

Amy Baxendale-Young, manager of the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat of Northern Ontario, said mining companies, in particular, could harm polar bear habitats if they are given free rein to develop resources near Hudson Bay without following provincial and local regulations.

But Baxendale-Young said climate change remains the biggest threat to Canada’s polar bear population.

“As climate change begins to impact their natural habitats, we are seeing the ice-free period of the year becoming longer,” he said.

“Without ice, polar bears cannot hunt their main prey, which are seals. They need sea ice as a platform to be able to reach them.”

In Ontario, polar bears make dens for their cubs in peatlands, which are becoming less stable due to climate change, Baxendale-Young said.

He said the polar bear population in the province has been steadily declining for the past 10 to 20 years.

‘Strong environmental protection’

Alexandru Ciobhan, a spokesperson for Ontario Environment, Conservation and Parks Minister Todd McCarthy, said in an email to CBC News that the new Species Conservation Act “establishes stronger environmental protections by creating clear, enforceable rules for businesses to follow while strengthening the ability to enforce species conservation laws.”

Siobhan said the new law would also be supported by a $20 million investment per year in an “advanced species conservation programme”.

Under the Species Conservation Act, Ontario’s Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario continues to classify species as extinct (when an animal no longer exists in a geographic area), endangered or threatened.

The statement also said the law prohibits “engaging in activities that could result in a species no longer surviving in the wild in Ontario.”