Ford's environment minister said science would keep deciding which species are endangered
“The federal act allows the Minister of the Environment to make decisions about timelines and to decide which species are endangered. Mr. Species—Mr. Speaker, in Ontario, science will remain the driving feature of which species are endangered.”
Environment Minister Rod Phillips, · Question Period, Legislative Assembly (Hansard)
What happened · Jun 5, 2025
The Auditor General found in 2021 that the 2019 changes to Ontario's species classification criteria were inconsistent with the science-based criteria used in other provinces, and Bill 5 (2025) ended automatic protection for species the science committee COSSARO classifies, though COSSARO still does the classifying.
In 2019, while defending the Endangered Species Act changes later passed in Bill 108, Environment Minister Rod Phillips contrasted Ontario with the federal law, under which a minister decides which species are endangered, and said science would stay the deciding factor in Ontario. In November 2021, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk reported that the 2019 changes to how Ontario classifies species were inconsistent with the science-based criteria used in other provinces and could cost some species existing protections. She also found that six members were appointed to the species assessment committee without the standard screening process. Bill 5, which took effect June 5, 2025, decoupled legal protection from the science committee's (COSSARO's) classifications. Under the Species Conservation Act, in force since March 30, 2026, cabinet sets the Protected Species in Ontario list by regulation. That list drops aquatic species and migratory birds that COSSARO had classified, and a July 2026 Ontario Nature report found 106 species lost provincial protection.