The Editor,
I want to thank Lynn Macdonell (Letter to The Editor, We face the spectre of “Silent Spring,” April 30) for her moving and timely letter about the Ontario government’s proposed Species Conservation Act.
Her comparison to Silent Spring is powerful and sadly, it is not hyperbole. If Bill 5 passes, we will see the systematic unravelling of Ontario’s endangered species protections, just when our biodiversity is already under stress from habitat loss, pollution, and climate change.
Bill 5 does not just tinker with the system — it guts it. It allows developers to proceed with work immediately after registration, removing the need for upfront environmental review. It eliminates the government’s obligation to recover species once they are threatened. And it redefines protection itself, weakening what it even means to safeguard a species, for example, by narrowing the definition of “habitat,” the bill opens the door for critical breeding, feeding, or migratory areas to be excluded from protection, even if a species relies on them for survival.
These changes matter here in Cornwall and across Eastern Ontario. Wetlands that shelter Blanding’s turtles and forests where wood thrushes sing could be cleared, paved, or fragmented without the tools we’ve relied on to slow or stop irreversible harm.
The government claims this is about building more homes. But the truth is that Ontario’s current conservation framework already allows for development — when done responsibly. What’s really needed to address the housing crisis is creative thinking: more innovative urban planning that lets people live sustainably in complete communities, and a serious investment in social and affordable housing for those who need it. Endless sprawl — often in the cookie-cutter style preferred by large developers — only maximizes profit at the expense of conservation and long-term sustainability. We can and must do better.
Lynn is right to warn of a silent spring. Birdsong should be the soundtrack to our April mornings, not a fading memory. If this government allows endangered species to become collateral damage in the race to deregulate, we all lose.
Let’s make sure Ontario’s legacy is one of stewardship, not regret.
Mélanie Ayotte, Cornwall
