On April 1, 2021 the Ontario government announced the appointment of a working group of conservation experts to “identify opportunities to protect and conserve more natural areas” in the province, a key commitment in the government’s Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan. The working group provided a report with recommendations to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks entitled, “A New Approach: Advancing Protected and Conserved Areas in Ontario.” The report was only recently made available to the public through a Freedom of Information request.
On behalf of the 124 undersigned organizations, we urge you to implement key recommendations of the report, specifically: 1) to partner with Indigenous Nations and engage the public, municipalities and interested groups to immediately implement a strategy to protect 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030 and 2) to establish an innovation fund to support implementation. We urge you to make funding and resources available commensurate with the globally significant opportunity that is available in Ontario right now.