Please do not amend O. Reg…

Please do not amend O. Reg. 830/21 to eliminate the 30-day waiting period between the submission of a Butternut Health Expert Report and registration of an eligible activity. I support the waiting period as serving an essential purpose to give experts the time to assess butternut trees.

Please do not proceed to amend section 0.1 of O. Reg. 242/08 (General) to add newly listed species to existing exemptions. If a species is newly listed, this is the most important time to implement protective measures to prevent further habitat loss and maintain a healthy population.

Overall, the province should pause implementation of the proposed regulatory amendments and instead should focus on upholding our existing protections in support of provincial, national, and global commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 (see supporting links). These proposed regulatory changes are not in line with meeting our commitments.