Todd McCarthy

Internal government emails show Ontario completed years-long recovery plans for endangered wolves, butterflies, and bats — then secretly decided not to release them to the public, weeks after passing Bill 5 to eliminate the legal requirement to do so.

As Ontario's Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, McCarthy's ministry approved the June 2025 directive to complete recovery strategies for the eastern wolf, northern oak hairstreak butterfly, and three migratory bat species while withholding public posting on the Environmental Registry — a decision confirmed by internal emails obtained through freedom of information requests.

The Ford government has spent $452 million in taxpayer-funded advertising since 2018 — repeatedly refusing to disclose campaign costs until forced by FOI — while the Auditor General found 38% of spending was designed to promote the governing party, and the firm behind the most controversial ad is run by Doug Ford's campaign manager's brother-in-law.

As Environment Minister, McCarthy defended the government's $40 million US-facing advertising campaign, stating "We've educated the American public with our ads" — characterizing a campaign the Auditor General flagged as partisan promotion as public information.

Under cover of a tariff emergency, Doug Ford passed omnibus legislation that repealed Ontario's Endangered Species Act, created law-free "special economic zones" where cabinet can suspend any provincial rule for handpicked companies, and quietly cancelled environmental assessments for a landfill owned by $200,000 PC donors — repeating the exact playbook of the Greenbelt scandal with no limits and no oversight.

As Ontario's Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, McCarthy defended Bill 5's elimination of the Endangered Species Act, stating "the days of making proponents wait years for approvals are over." His ministry implemented the Species Conservation Act and approved the June 2025 directive to withhold completed endangered species recovery plans from the public.

Doug Ford's government sold off 60% of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park — overriding 98% public opposition via an omnibus budget bill — while Bill 5 stripped the last provincial protections from Ontario's most important Piping Plover breeding site. When the Town began mechanically raking critical nesting habitat in April 2026 just days before the endangered birds return, Ecojustice filed a Federal Court lawsuit warning that failure to act will result in the species' extirpation from Ontario.

As Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, McCarthy's ministry oversaw the repeal of the Endangered Species Act under Bill 5, disbanded the provincial park biologist team that had managed Piping Plover protection at Wasaga Beach for 18 years, and administered the Species Conservation Act replacement that provides no habitat protection for the birds.

The Ford government promised a comprehensive environmental assessment for a proposed landfill directly upstream from Canada's only population of the salamander mussel — then buried the reversal inside omnibus Bill 5 after winning a byelection on the promise, exempting a company whose owners donated $200,000 to the PCs from all provincial environmental review, leaving 33 species at risk in one of Canada's most biodiverse rivers with no provincial protection.

As Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, McCarthy defended the EA reversal for the York1 landfill and was named in the Integrity Commissioner complaint filed by Liberal MPP Ted Hsu. He denied involvement in developing Schedule 3. The Commissioner declined to investigate but made no findings on the underlying facts.