Latest news with #WorldWildlifeFundCanada
Cision Canada
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Cision Canada
WWF-Canada calls for nation-building projects that 'heal nature, not harm it'
TORONTO, June 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada's Parliament has voted to give Cabinet sweeping new powers to accelerate "nation-building" projects under Bill C-5, potentially bypassing environmental safeguards such as the Species at Risk Act (SARA), the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act and the Migratory Birds Convention Act. In our country's efforts to build the economy, World Wildlife Fund Canada believes any shovels in the ground must not be at the expense of endangered species and the habitats they rely on. Bill C-5 will allow Cabinet to override key environmental protections for projects that it deems to be in the national interest. While unstable geopolitics demand that Canada shore up its economy, nearly half of Canadians (49%) recognize that environmental regulations should not be bypassed to "speed things up," according to new data from the Angus Reid Institute. "Prosperity is possible without sacrificing wetlands, forests, marine ecosystems or wildlife," Megan Leslie, president and CEO of WWF-Canada says. "Canadians want growth that strengthens our economy and our ecosystems. Bill C-5 can still deliver that future, but only if the government insists on projects that protect and restore, not harm, the nature that sustains us." Canada's ecosystems sustain wildlife, store carbon, filter water and provide many other essential services helping our communities adapt to a changing climate. Gutting safeguards around their protection risks repeating the mistakes of the past — mistakes that have harmed Indigenous communities, damaged wildlife habitats and burdened generations of people across the country. The way forward is to make the protection of nature a prerequisite for development. That means complying with the intent of environmental laws such as SARA and the Fisheries Act and pursuing a balanced path to prosperity. The government should invest in large-scale, complex ecosystem restoration, Indigenous Guardians programs and renewable energy projects that have ecological integrity and durability at their core. Now is the time to fund nature-based solutions, develop conservation economies that strengthen communities, create jobs and help safeguard us from the impacts of climate change. "The 'Building Canada' era should be remembered for landscapes restored, Indigenous rights respected and renewable energy delivered, not for nature pushed closer to the brink," Leslie says. "We stand ready to help government, industry and communities get this right." About World Wildlife Fund Canada WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive. For more information visit
Cision Canada
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Cision Canada
We don't have to tear down nature to 'Build Canada'
TORONTO, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The federal government's proposed Build Canada Act, a plan to fast-track "nation-building" development projects, from critical minerals mines and oil and gas pipelines to habitat-fragmenting highways and Arctic deep-water ports, risks damaging the nature that is at the core of Canada's economy and identity — threatening the wealth of the nation it is supposed to defend. World Wildlife Fund Canada is deeply concerned about the bill, which would allow Cabinet to override key environmental protections, such as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Migratory Birds Convention Act, for projects deemed in the national interest. We are also concerned that this legislation could undermine the federal government's obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Development decisions that bypass Indigenous consultation risk perpetuating the very harms that reconciliation is meant to address. Canada is already falling behind on its biodiversity commitments. It has yet to meet the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, adopted in 2010, and recently agreed to new targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Meanwhile, the data tell a troubling story: populations of species listed as at risk nationally by COSEWIC have declined by 59 per cent on average from 1970 to 2016. Species of global conservation concern — those assessed as "threatened" on the IUCN Red List — have declined by 42 per cent on average in Canada over the same time period. We understand the need to build infrastructure and support economic growth, particularly considering uncertain geopolitical times. But nature must be part of that future, not a casualty of it. Our wetlands, forests and grasslands are not obstacles — they are assets. They store carbon, filter water, and act as natural firebreaks. Undermining the laws that protect them risks repeating the mistakes of the past, when unchecked development led to widespread habitat loss, degraded water systems, and long-term costs to both people and wildlife. If we've learned anything from recent years of wildfire smoke-filled skies, mega storms and floods, it's that a healthy environment isn't a luxury, it's a line of defence. Now is the time to invest in nature-based solutions, creating conservation economies that strengthen communities, create jobs and help safeguard us from the impacts of climate change. We urge Parliament to take a more balanced path, one that ensures development does not come at the expense of the nature that defines and protects us. About World Wildlife Fund Canada WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive. For more information visit
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
We don't have to tear down nature to 'Build Canada'
TORONTO, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The federal government's proposed Build Canada Act, a plan to fast-track "nation-building" development projects, from critical minerals mines and oil and gas pipelines to habitat-fragmenting highways and Arctic deep-water ports, risks damaging the nature that is at the core of Canada's economy and identity — threatening the wealth of the nation it is supposed to defend. World Wildlife Fund Canada is deeply concerned about the bill, which would allow Cabinet to override key environmental protections, such as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Migratory Birds Convention Act, for projects deemed in the national interest. We are also concerned that this legislation could undermine the federal government's obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Development decisions that bypass Indigenous consultation risk perpetuating the very harms that reconciliation is meant to address. Canada is already falling behind on its biodiversity commitments. It has yet to meet the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, adopted in 2010, and recently agreed to new targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Meanwhile, the data tell a troubling story: populations of species listed as at risk nationally by COSEWIC have declined by 59 per cent on average from 1970 to 2016. Species of global conservation concern — those assessed as "threatened" on the IUCN Red List — have declined by 42 per cent on average in Canada over the same time period. We understand the need to build infrastructure and support economic growth, particularly considering uncertain geopolitical times. But nature must be part of that future, not a casualty of it. Our wetlands, forests and grasslands are not obstacles — they are assets. They store carbon, filter water, and act as natural firebreaks. Undermining the laws that protect them risks repeating the mistakes of the past, when unchecked development led to widespread habitat loss, degraded water systems, and long-term costs to both people and wildlife. If we've learned anything from recent years of wildfire smoke-filled skies, mega storms and floods, it's that a healthy environment isn't a luxury, it's a line of defence. Now is the time to invest in nature-based solutions, creating conservation economies that strengthen communities, create jobs and help safeguard us from the impacts of climate change. We urge Parliament to take a more balanced path, one that ensures development does not come at the expense of the nature that defines and protects us. About World Wildlife Fund Canada WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive. For more information visit SOURCE World Wildlife Fund Canada View original content to download multimedia: Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Cision Canada
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Cision Canada
Dismantling Ontario's environmental safeguards and sidelining science could drive endangered species to extinction
' Species protection cannot be subject to political discretion,' says World Wildlife Fund Canada TORONTO, April 25, 2025 /CNW/ - Ontario's dangerous move to dismantle provincial environmental protections will put wildlife and nature at greater risk, as it removes science-based decision-making, harmfully redefines "habitat" and gives the government the power to exempt certain developments from any regulation. Dubbed the "Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act," Bill 5 is the latest in a series of attacks on environmental safeguards, including 2019's so-called "pay to slay" amendment to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 2020's hollowing out of the Conservation Authorities Act. Bill 5 further threatens Ontario's biodiversity by significantly weakening protections for more than 270 species at risk of extinction, ranging from wolverines to piping plovers, while significantly increasing industrial pressures on ecologically sensitive areas. It would repeal the ESA, considered a benchmark piece of legislation, replacing its arms-length, science-based accountability with a defanged Species Conservation Act. This new act gives the government — not scientists — power to make discretionary decisions regarding species at risk, while also reducing the focus on recovery and relying on a self-registration approach that could dramatically weaken government oversight on degradation and destruction of wildlife habitats. Making matters worse, the proposed creation of "Special Economic Zones" can circumvent environmental legislation entirely, allowing developers to disregard damage to nature and wildlife caused by their work. These proposals could also undermine the fundamental rights of local and Indigenous communities to free, prior and informed consent when it comes to projects on their territories, an essential safeguard for equitable and sustainable development. Protecting nature isn't just an environmental imperative, it's a smart economic investment, with ecosystem services like clean water, pollination and climate regulation contributing billions of dollars to Ontario's economy each year. "Bill 5 is an unprecedented rollback of biodiversity protections in Ontario. Repealing the Endangered Species Act strips away the cornerstone of the environmental legislation that leaves a crumbling foundation for future recovery of endangered species in the province," says James Snider, Vice-president of Science, Knowledge and Innovation at WWF-Canada. "This is not red-tape reduction; it's environmental deregulation with no accountability at the cost of species extinctions and long-term ecological collapse." WWF-Canada calls on the Ontario government to reconsider this environmentally calamitous decision and uphold its duty to future generations through strong protections for species at risk that safeguard wildlife and nature. About World Wildlife Fund Canada WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive. For more information visit
