On a Positive Note...

Credit where credit is due, the Ontario government has done something (environmentally) right recently! Ontario is now the first province in Canada to have a Local Food Act. Forest and freshwater foods have been included in the Act, and we can thank Ontario Nature (again) for this. Why is the inclusion of forest and freshwater food important? Because forest and freshwater foods rarely garner the same attention as agriculture in the discussion of local food. Yet it is intrinsically part of the discussion in many areas of our province, most certainly our boreal north. The new Act, which will probably be proclaimed in the spring of 2014,  will provide increased recognition of the importance and value of wild habitat and the need for clean water. Kudos for that. Or should we say two green thumbs up?

 

http://www.ontarionature.org/protect/habitat/local_food_and_northern_ontario.php

Here are a few interesting links about "edible" forests:

http://northernbushcraft.com/guide.php?ctgy=edible_Berries&region=on

http://londonfoodforest.blogspot.ca/p/welcome-welcome-to-carolinian-food.html

http://www.grandriverrafting.ca/ontario-edible-plant-hike-poisonous-plants-trees






 

 

 

 

 

Ontario Nature is Going to Court

 

Ontario Nature is an organization that I respect and support. They have always been proactive and outspoken whenever wildlife, wilderness and habitat have been threatened in this province. So it is no surprise that one of nature's greatest allies in this province is, indeed, Ontario Nature.

 

To learn more about Ontario Nature's stance on the changes to our Endangered Species Act, see the link below. However, you might want to spend some time on their site and/or sign up for the newsletters, which are always well written, knowledgeable and informative.

 

A big "tree-hugging" thank-you today to a great organization, Ontario Nature!

http://www.ontarionature.org/give/your_voice_for_nature.php

The Ontario Government's Shameful Flip-flop on Endangered Species

 

While scandals rock municipalities, the Senate and the PMO, let's not forget the whoppers perpetrated by the provincial Liberal government under the guidance of Dalton McGuinty and crew. As if the money-sucking, morally reprehensible health care and gas plant scandals weren't bad enough, the Ontario government has opted to pay for its fiscal mismanagement at the expense of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), the province's only lines of defense against the greed of corporate and industrial developers. Cash-strapped Ontario is jettisoning programs and protocols faster than you can say Close that racetrack! And who is paying the price?

 

Endangered (and threatened) species. Ultimately, however, we, the people of Ontario, will be the losers, as we will be losing our precious and irreplaceable biodiversity and the beauty and grace of these wild creatures and plants - forever.

 

Think this is just my embittered opinion? Well, read this and weep: Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, has  released a special report slamming the provincial government for the recent changes made to the once-gold standard Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 2007.

 

I urge you to read Mr. Miller's blog and the report,  Laying Siege to the Last Line of Defence: A Review of Ontario's weakened protections for species at risk.