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OTTAWA, April 22, 2025 — Animal Environmental Legal Advocacy (“AEL Advocacy”) is sounding the alarm over the Ford government’s Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, which proposes sweeping and dangerous amendments to Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007 (“ESA”). If passed, the Bill would dismantle vital protections for some of the province’s most vulnerable wild animals—at a time when habitat destruction and biodiversity loss are already accelerating at alarming rates.
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In its latest report, AEL Advocacy revealed how the Ford government has steadily weakened the ESA over the past seven years—through a patchwork of amendments, exemptions, and regulatory rollbacks that have chipped away at the law’s effectiveness. Bill 5 is the final nail in the coffin, threatening to undo what remains of Ontario’s once-groundbreaking species protection legislation.
“Bill 5 puts animals on a fast track to extinction,” said Krystal-Anne Roussel, Co-Director and Legal Counsel at AEL Advocacy. “It erodes hard-won protections and prioritizes short-term profits over the lives of Ontario’s most imperiled animals. We have a legal and ethical duty to protect these animals—not legislate them into disappearance.”
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Ontario is home to more than 240 species listed as at risk, many of whom rely on the ESA to safeguard their homes and survival. Yet, Bill 5 proposes to gut core provisions of the ESA and introduce a replacement law that would make it even easier to approve harmful development.
If enacted, Schedule 2 of Bill 5 would:
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Rewrite the ESA’s purpose to prioritize "economic growth" equally with species protection.
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Narrow the legal definition of “habitat,” potentially stripping protection from essential seasonal ranges and migratory corridors.
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Remove prohibitions on harassing at-risk species.
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Replace independent, science-based assessments with ministerial discretion, politicizing wildlife protection.
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Eliminate the requirement to create species-specific recovery strategies, leaving many animals without survival plans.
Schedule 10 goes further by proposing to repeal the ESA entirely, replacing it with a weakened Species Conservation Act, 2025 (“SCA”) that:
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Grants government sweeping control over which species receive protection, sidelining scientific expertise.
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Excludes migratory birds and aquatic species protected federally from requiring permits.
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Legalizes activities that disturb or displace wildlife—so long as they don't explicitly cause extinction—through a vague and unenforceable “extinction clause.”
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Replaces public permitting with a simplified online registration system, removing transparency and oversight.
AEL Advocacy is urging the Government of Ontario to immediately withdraw Schedules 2 and 10 of Bill 5 and urges members of the public to submit comments opposing the proposed changes via the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO #025-0380) by May 17, 2025.
ABOUT AEL ADVOCACY: Animal Environmental Legal Advocacy (“AEL Advocacy”) is a public interest law practice and not-for-profit organization based in Ontario. Our lawyers understand the important interconnection between humans, animals, and the environment. We leverage our legal and political expertise to support individuals, communities, and organizations working to protect animals and the environments where they live.​​
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Background
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> Bill 5 Action Brief
> Bill 5 Action Alert
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
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Krystal-Anne Roussel
Co-Director and Legal Counsel
krystal@aeladvocacy.ca
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