On June 2, the Doug Ford government announced it was heading into an almost five-month summer recess after a 30-day legislative session; the same day a coalition requested the province’s financial watchdog to launch an independent investigation into the costs associated with building the controversial Highway 413.

Government House Leader Steve Clark said the Legislature will not return until October 27 and the extended break is intended to avoid interfering with this fall’s municipal election campaigns.

Premier Ford, however, has shown little hesitation about weighing into local politics: Speaking to reporters at a housing construction site in Mississauga in March, Ford said if former Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie decided to run for mayor again, he would “send an army down here” to help Carolyn Parrish win the race.

That same day, the province also turned Bill 9, dubbed the Municipal Accountability Act, into law after first tabling it in May last year. The legislation established standardized codes of conduct for municipal council members and local boards, strengthened the powers of integrity commissioners and created a process to remove and disqualify local politicians found guilty of serious misconduct.

But who holds provincial politicians to the same standard?

Queen’s Park sat for just 30 days this spring—Ford was absent for 11 of them before the Legislature adjourned for the summer.

The shortened session ended with Ontario taxpayers still on the hook for $190,865.56 in additional fees tied to the government’s brief purchase and resale of the $28.9-million Bombardier luxury private jet. Ford has made no indication he would reimburse that money from his own pocket after New Democratic Party provincial leader Marit Stiles asked the Premier to dig into his own pocket for the costs.

The RCMP’s criminal investigation into the $8.3 billion Greenbelt land swap remains unresolved after more than two years. While there has been no update on the case, the PCs have also delayed the mandatory ten-year review of the Greenbelt Plan.

On May 19, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the PC government’s attempt to keep Ford’s personal cellphone records hidden, reviving an order requiring officials to review government-related calls made on his private device during the Greenbelt controversy.

Ford recently pushed through a late-night vote passing changes to Ontario’s freedom-of-information laws that could retroactively prevent the records from being publicly released. The new law allows Ford to shield all of his records and those of all his cabinet members and staff from public disclosure.

This could prevent his Greenbelt records, even those on his personal devices, from being made public.

The controversial Highway 413 plan has been directly linked to Ford’s desire to open up the Greenbelt for sprawling residential construction. The highway is slated to run immediately adjacent and through parts of the Greenbelt which is protected from any such encroachment. It has been estimated the 413 Highway could increase the value of land in the Greenbelt that developers have bought by up to ten times. Ford and his government are being investigated by the RCMP for taking instruction from preferred developers who bought land in the Greenbelt and want him to greenlight their properties for future construction, which Ford tried to do in his now infamous Greenbelt swaps scandal.

Information and privacy commissioner Patricia Kosseim said the legislative move to retroactively shield Ford’s Greenbelt records shows the public that “if oversight bodies get in the way, just change the rules.”

She wrote in a statement prior to the April vote by Ford and his fellow PCs shielding the records of cabinet members from public disclosure that, “Freedom of information laws exist to provide Ontarians with vital information about how government decisions are made, on what basis, who influenced them, and whether the public interest is being served.”

Ontario’s top privacy watchdog said, “If records about government business can be shielded from scrutiny simply because they sit in a minister’s office, on a staffer’s device, or within a political account, public accountability is eviscerated.”

In 2024, the Canadian Association of Journalists awarded the Ford government the provincial Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy—a year after Ontario’s Auditor found that government officials had used personal devices and non-governmental channels to conduct official business, a practice deemed “unacceptable” and contrary to the principles of transparency and public accountability.

For a politician who ran on the slogan “For the People”, Ontarians are left with more questions than answers in the ninth year of Ford’s leadership.

But attempts are being made to get an answer on one of the PCs’ big campaign promises: Highway 413.

Environmental Defence, advocacy group Open the 407 Now and representatives from all three opposition parties—the Ontario NDP, Ontario Liberals and Ontario Greens—held a joint press conference at Queen’s Park on Tuesday requesting that Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO) conduct an independent probe into the costs of constructing and operating what is expected to be the province’s “costliest mega-highway”.

“Highway 413 [is] a destructive highway that would cost taxpayers an estimated $16 to $18 billion, pave over protected Greenbelt land and prime farmland, fuel sprawl and worsen congestion,” Environmental Defence Associate Director, Mike Marcolongo, said.

“However, because the Ontario government has exempted this highway from an environmental assessment, proven alternatives and solutions have not been examined.”

In November 2024, the Ford government excluded the 59-kilometre highway linking Highway 401 near Milton to Highway 400 in Vaughan from the provincial Environmental Assessment Act after passing Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, into law—creating the Highway 413 Act and eliminating the project’s traditional environmental assessment requirements, limiting public transparency, allowing 24-hour construction despite the risks to nocturnal wildlife, and making it more difficult for landowners to contest expropriation.

Ten months later, Ford and transportation minister Prabmeet Sarkaria were making a string of misleading claims about construction of the highway beginning when in reality, that was not the case.

“Work is beginning to resurface Highway 10 in preparation for a new bridge over the future Highway 413,” Ford’s PC government announced in August last year. “Crews will also soon begin upgrades at the Highway 401/407 interchange, which will be the western terminus of Highway 413.”

The announcement suggested the long-promised highway was finally taking shape…

In 2024, when the PCs said the province would start building Highway 413 by 2025, there was no final design for the project, no finished environmental assessment and no planned opening date. The project was also being considered by the federal government for a full impact assessment due to the damage it will cause to both environmentally sensitive habitats and indigenous heritage. Ottawa dismissed the idea and created a task force to work alongside the province through a task force to mitigate the issues. The process has been opaque with little indication of any progress made to date to avoid the most damaging impacts of the highway on land inhabited by nearly 30 species at risk, according to an investigation by The Pointer.

So, when the PCs claimed Highway 413 construction was underway, it was not the highway itself, rather a series of limited infrastructure upgrades referred to as “early works.”

“There are two phases to this project. The early works, which are now under construction, and the main highway. What’s interesting is how the early works were chosen specifically to avoid triggering federal approvals,” Macpherson Law Senior Counsel, Laura Bowman, explained.

In 2020, the PCs proposed exempting the GTA West (Highway 413) project from completing a full environmental assessment before beginning “early works,” without clearly defining what those works would entail.

Regulatory agencies warned that the lack of detail made it difficult to assess potential impacts on fish habitat, migratory bird corridors and other sensitive environmental features—concerns that are now pushed under the rug with Bill 5’s watered-down definition of species habitat under the Species Conservation Act. At the time, the province indicated early works could include bridge construction and watercourse crossings but regulators underscored there had been little communication with federal fisheries officials about possible habitat disruption.

The government simultaneously moved to exempt highways shorter than 75 kilometres from Ontario’s individual environmental assessment process, a change that alarmed environmental watchdogs and conservation authorities.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority warned that key protections normally applied to development in flood-prone and environmentally sensitive areas under Section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act would not automatically apply to Highway 413, creating precariousness about how natural resources, property and public safety would be protected during the detailed design phase; thereby, failing to meet the objectives of the Environmental Assessment (EA) Act, undermining efforts to manage Ontario’s environment wisely.

The early works, therefore, were being carried out in areas that reportedly did not cross endangered species habitat or ecologically sensitive waterways, making it possible for the province to proceed without seeking federal authorization. That strategy became easier to execute after the federal government formally dropped its impact assessment of Highway 413 on April 15, 2024, following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that limited Ottawa’s authority under the federal Impact Assessment Act, effectively ending the federal review process and leaving oversight of the project largely in the hands of the province.

Marcolongo contends construction of the highway is “many years away” and final design remains incomplete.

“Our understanding is that the MTO will be phasing the highway into four different sections, and only the final design is being completed or started at this point for one of those four sections, which will take up to two years,” he reiterated.

The group’s request is “particularly important given the Ministry of Transportation’s continued refusal to disclose the highway’s costs and the well-documented increases in construction and land acquisition costs for building infrastructure in Ontario”.

When Ford revived the project in 2019 despite recommendations of the province’s own advisory panel in 2017 that the project be cancelled, it carried an estimated price tag of just over $4 billion. Seven years later, after soaring inflation, labour shortages and escalating construction costs, the province has yet to release an updated estimate, hiding a total price tag now estimated to exceed $14 billion, according to a recent report by Enviornmental Defence.

Peter Tabuns, the Ontario NDP’s critic for Environment, Conservation and Parks, believes a financial investigation could shed light on alternatives to Highway 413 and the true costs associated with a project that he argues would increase “environmental damage”, resulting in the direct loss of 2,000 acres of prime agricultural land, park land and forests next to Canada’s biggest city while increasing flooding risks for downstream communities; as reported by The Pointer previously, Peel communities will be especially vulnerable to the ecological breakdown caused by the construction of the highway, adding to the pressures that already exist due to decades of bad land use planning.

“This highway doesn’t make sense environmentally, it doesn’t make sense in terms of transportation, it doesn’t make sense economically,” Tabuns said.

A consulting firm hired by Environmental Defence has already cautioned that Highway 413 would pump an extra 700,000 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year, adding up to 17.4 million tonnes by 2050—an increase Ontarians cannot afford to bear the repurcussions of at a time when the province has already gotten rid of its duty to report on its climate change targets.

The Ontario Liberal party’s Critic for the Environment and Climate, Mary-Margaret McMahon, said the billions of dollars that the province might be projecting to use for the construction of Highway 413 could be used “for education, to improve our dilapidated schools, for transit, so we can get more people out of their cars,” for housing and healthcare.

But a January report by the FAO found that infrastructure spending over the Ford government’s seven years in office is projected to be higher than during its first three years for provincial highways and transportation infrastructure. While the PCs increased focus on road-building projects continues, investments in other areas have lagged behind with projected spending on transit, justice, social services and other sectors expected to be lower “over the last seven years compared to the first three years”.

In 2025, planned spending on provincial highways and other transportation infrastructure had climbed to $28.4 billion in real terms—an increase of $2.9 billion or 11 percent, compared to the $25.5 billion allocated in the 2019 budget. “The largest increase was in 2022, which added $2.9 billion to the spending plan, due in part to costs added for new projects, which included the new Highway 413,” the FAO revealed.

In this year’s budget, the province set aside over $30 billion to be spent over ten years on construction of highway expansion and rehabilitation projects. How much of that money is slated for Highway 413 remains a mystery.

“It’s not only irresponsible, it’s financially reckless to proceed with a project without doing any costing,” Ontario Green party leader Mike Schreiner critiqued, calling Highway 413 a “dangerous” project.

Environmental Defence’s latest report Transit over Traffic estimates three of Ontario’s proposed highway projects namely Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass and the 401 Tunnel together might cost taxpayers up to $80 billion—money that could build “enough light rail to connect Toronto to Sudbury”.

“To subsidize trucks on the 407 would cost on average $300 million a year,” Open the 407 Now Chair, Andre Willi, said.

“You can subsidize truck traffic for at least 45 years to equal the cost of this [Highway 413’s] construction.”

When the GTA West Advisory Panel, appointed by the Ontario Liberals in 2017, reviewed the potential impacts of the project, it made two important deductions: the highway would save drivers just 30 to 60 seconds per trip, a far cry from the 30-minute figure touted by the PCs.

The panel, instead, suggested using toll incentives to shift traffic, especially trucks, onto the underutilized Highway 407, which already runs parallel to the proposed 413 route, just 15 kilometres to the south, as a more cost-effective and immediate alternative.

In 1999, the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government sold Highway 407 for $3.1 billion to a consortium that included SNC-Lavalin, Quebec’s provincial pension fund, and the Spanish company Ferrovial.

The highway is currently owned by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, the Crown corporation responsible for public employees retirement and Old Age Security (OAS) and Ferrovial subsidiary, Cintra, a publicly-traded Spanish toll road and parking lot company.

The Province owns a 22-kilometre stretch of Highway 407 on its eastern side, where tolls are significantly lower compared to the private section of the highway.

Last year, Ford suggested he would “never rule out” Highway 407 buyback. In 2024, a representative from Minister Sarkaria’s office also told The Pointer that the PC government has “been in conversation with the 407”.

But later that year, the owners said they have had no conversations with the province about a buyback.

“We regularly meet with the Ontario government to explore opportunities to alleviate congestion across the region, though we’ve not been engaged in any conversations about a buyback,” a statement shared with The Pointer noted.

The idea of removing tolls for trucks on Highway 407 has long been floated as an alternative. It was included in the Ontario NDP 2022 election platform and resurfaced in November 2023 after Environmental Defence reported that doing so could save transport truck drivers up to 80 minutes in travel time. In February 2024, Ontario Green party also proposed subsidizing truck tolls on Highway 407 and cancelling Highway 413 construction. But the PCs voted down a motion that would have removed tolls for commercial truck traffic on the 407.

“Highway 413 has nothing to do with alleviating gridlock in the GTHA. It is all about unleashing low-density sprawl to build homes that ordinary people can’t afford on thousands of acres of farmland, wetlands, greenbelt, forests, and nature, that is so vital to Ontario’s $52 billion agri-food economy that creates jobs for one in nine people in this province, the largest employer in Ontario, at a time when we’re facing an economic and jobs crisis,” Schreiner said at a recent press conference.

“The floods that hit the GTA two summers ago cost $1.3 billion an hour, and that will only get worse if the Ford government continues to pave over the nature that protects us.

Marcolongo estimates for the estimated cost of Highway 413, the province could build “191 km of GO/LRT/BRT that moves twice as many people”.

But Willi asserted that the highway is “another way” Ford is “helping his developer buddies” not about helping Ontarians move or reducing induced demand.

Despite Highway 413 being the subject of years of political debate between Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments, some of Ontario’s most well-connected developers were buying up farmland along the proposed route and near the Greenbelt, positioning themselves to reap enormous gains if the project moved ahead and land values surged.

“We’re not saying don’t build infrastructure projects, build transit for all Ontarians, and move twice the number of commuters…the government does not want to share their financial analysis with the taxpayers. This is our money,” Willi said.

“Voters wouldn’t want this highway once they know the true cost and immediate alternatives available.”

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At the southernmost mainland point in Canada, thousands of birds migrating north will arrive, alongside thousands of visitors to Point Pelee National Park, including The Field & Shutter Press this May.

Beyond being an outdoor destination, the park serves as an important stopping point for birds, as it’s the first piece of land encountered by them as they make their way across Lake Erie. It allows them to rest and recharge along their journeys.

Point Pelee National Park’s unique location offers a chance to see many different species, including rare and uncommon travelers as they pass through. This has brought the park international attention as people travel from all over the world to witness the migration.

The park even hosts an annual Festival of Birds through its supporting organization, the Friends of Point Pelee.

During several days spent photographing spring migration at Point Pelee National Park, we encountered a wide variety of species. Here are some that stood out during our time there this May.

Warblers

One of those uncommon birds mentioned actually calls Point Pelee National Park home: the Prothonotary warbler.

According to Birds Canada, there are only an estimated 30 individuals of this species in the entire country, making it a federally at-risk species. They only nest along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Another similarly coloured warbler, a frequent sight throughout the park, was the Yellow Warbler.

Recent taxonomic updates in 2025 for these warblers split the group into the Northern Yellow Warbler in North America, and the separate Mangrove Yellow Warbler found in coastal mangroves farther south.

We also encountered a few Chestnut-sided Warblers, named for the chestnut-colored streaks along their sides.

The only warbler with an orange throat, the Blackburnian Warbler, could be found hunting for bugs high in the canopy. This one, in particular, appears to have caught an inchworm (a Geometrid Moth).

Orioles

Amid all the fresh spring greenery, these vibrant orange-coloured birds stood out and made a statement: the Baltimore Oriole. These were a frequent sighting throughout the park in May, but sometimes we were the ones being spotted.

Some were a bit more tied up with things, as they worked to build their nests.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Baltimore Orioles build distinctive hanging, sock-like nests woven from a variety of fibres, and these nests typically take about a week to construct.

Although not pictured, Orchard Orioles could also be heard around the park at times.

Vireos

Red-eyed Vireos could often be heard but not seen, as they tend to stay high in the trees.

In the right lighting, it becomes very apparent why they were named after the colour of their eye.

Another vireo, the Philadelphia Vireo, was also spotted around the park.

Cuckoos

It’s often difficult to spot these birds, as they spend lots of time staying perfectly still, typically deep in the dense foliage, but this Black-billed Cuckoo was briefly out in the open.

Flycatchers

Great Crested Flycatchers are another bird that tends to stay high in the canopy, although they are a common bird when they venture to Ontario to breed.

Herons

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports that the Green Heron is known to make lures from bread, bugs, or feathers to catch small fish.

Waxwings

These Cedar Waxwings were spotted near “the tip” of Point Pelee.

They made quick work of the berries and fruits on the trees left over from the previous seasons.

The tip at Point Pelee extends into Lake Erie and offers a great opportunity to spot shorebirds.

For bird watchers, Point Pelee offers an amazing opportunity to see many rare species and common species alike as they are funneled through the park each spring. For more information about the spring migration at Point Pelee, visit the Festival of Birds website or Parks Canada.

Editor's note: This article is a personal essay or reflection. It contains editorial perspective and opinion.

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MAY IN REVIEW

Howdy everyone, I hope you have all been doing well.

Spring finally seems to have settled into Ontario, with warmer, more seasonal temperatures finally upon us. But it’s worth mentioning this summer might “simmer instead of sizzle,” according to the Weather Network.

This month, your Field & Shutter Press team (aka Hayley and me) travelled down to Point Pelee National Park to witness some of the spring bird migration. We’ve both got some articles in the works, but we’ve included a brief photo selection for you in this month’s issue, so keep scrolling!

Speaking of migrating birds, Wasaga Beach has seen two Piping Plovers return for the 2026! We’ve got more details below.

Lastly, I also contributed a new piece to The Narwhal, which is included in this month’s issue. It covers the recent issuance of mining permits that could worsen the mercury crisis Grassy Narrows First Nation is facing. Please take the opportunity to read it.

Until the next one
-Greg

Grassy Narrows is taking steps to appeal mine permits that could worsen the mercury crisis

Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation) has taken the first step to appeal two permits issued to the mining company, Kinross Gold, that would allow the taking and discharge of water, which Grassy Narrows says would worsen the mercury crisis the community already faces.

You can read the full story over at The Narwhal, “Grassy Narrows seeks to appeal Ontario mine permits over mercury concerns.”

“The birds are back in town,” says Town of Wasaga Beach

The Town of Wasaga Beach announced on May 28 that two Piping Plovers have returned to the beach. Plovers have nested in Wasaga Beach since 2008, after returning to Ontario in 2007 following decades of absence.

This comes as the Town recently passed a new Beach Use Bylaw, which will protect both wildlife and the environment, with fines of up to $3,000 for “harming or disturbing wildlife” and up to $2,500 for “damaging vegetation or natural features,” the Town says. They also said that “Piping Plover stewardship training” has been made mandatory for all staff.

Wasaga Beach now has a stewardship team composed of Parks staff, Beachfront Ambassadors and two “Destination Wasaga Piping Plover Technicians,” which were announced earlier this month.

“We’re proud of our parks, communications, and municipal law enforcement teams who are leading this work on the ground, with support from Birds Canada and our provincial and federal partners,” said Mayor of Wasaga Beach, Brian Smith, in a press release.

The Town also said on May 4 that they started installing “educational and interpretive signage along the critical habitat zone” of the Piping Plover to help residents and visitors understand and support the recovery of the plovers during the nesting season.

Ford government expands Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park

On May 29, the Ford government announced that Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park would expand by 23 acres to protect important ecological lands within the Oak Ridges Moraine while also increasing local tourism and economic growth.

The land, approximately the size of “12 Canadian football fields,” as the province described it, is being transferred from Metrolinx and will become part of the park’s northern boundary. It could potentially host new trails and parking to support outdoor recreation, according to the province.

“We want Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park to be a place where families and future generations can connect with nature close to home,” said Todd McCarthy, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

The park is Ontario’s first Urban Provincial Park, first announced in 2023 and opened in July of 2024. The expansion is part of a $19 million three-year commitment the province made in 2024.

May migration at Point Pelee National Park

At the southernmost point of mainland Canada, in southern Ontario, you will find Point Pelee National Park, just as thousands of migrating birds do on their migration routes every spring.

Point Pelee is unique because of how far it extends into Lake Erie, providing the perfect landing site for birds to rest as they cross the lake into Canada on their northerly migration routes. Because of this, the park, through its supporters, Friends of Point Pelee, hold an annual Festival of Birds in May, attracting birders from around the world.

This year, The Field & Shutter Press was there to capture some of these spring migrants. A photo essay is in preparation for the June issue, but in the meantime, we invite you to enjoy this small selection of images.

Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Point Pelee National Park is one of the few places in Canada where this warbler can be found. According to Birds Canada, there are believed to be only about 30 individuals in the entire country.

Blackburnian warbler (Setophaga fusca)

These warblers tend to be a fan favourite due to their bold colouring; no other warblers have an orange throat, according to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, All About Birds.

Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)

You’re not “cuckoo” if you’ve never seen one of these birds before; they’re known to spend their time deep in the forests and perch motionless, making spotting them quite difficult. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website, the oldest known Black-billed Cuckoo was found in Connecticut in 1969, having been banded in Ontario in 1965, making it at least 4 years old.

THE FIELD & SHUTTER PRESS

FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS

IN OTHER NEWS

In the “In Other News” section, we’ll share interesting updates and discoveries from the past month. Expect highlights on photography, nature, wildlife, conservation, and environmental topics.

Greenbelt home to 70% more species at risk than twenty years ago, according to Ontario Nature report

Published on: 23/MAY/2026
The new report explains how the number of at-risk species living in the Greenbelt has outpaced provincial trends, highlighting the Greenbelt's important role. Click here to read more

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The Ford government passed Bill 97, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act, an omnibus budget bill, on April 23, with the Bill receiving Royal Assent on April 24. The province’s 36 Conservation Authorities will now officially consolidate into nine regional bodies, a move the province says will streamline approvals but critics warn could weaken local watershed management.

Locally, Conservation Halton and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) will merge to form a new Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority, which would also absorb the Hamilton Conservation Authority and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. However, Conservation Halton officials have told The Field & Shutter Press that changes to day-to-day operations should be minimal for residents.

This follows a previous proposal to consolidate to just 7 Conservation Authorities, which drew significant criticism.

Conservation authorities are local agencies responsible for watershed management, flood prevention, environmental protection and development permitting across Ontario.

“Ontario’s improved approach would feature watershed-based regional conservation authorities operating under consistent provincial standards, modern tools and strengthened capacity – delivering stronger watershed management, flood resilience and better support for housing and infrastructure growth,” said Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Todd McCarthy, in a press release when the change was announced.

Credit Valley Conservation Authority’s Board “condemned” the move, saying as part of a press release that the proposed actions “disrupt one of the province’s most efficient and high-performing conservation authorities.”

Mayor of Halton Hills and a member of the CVC Board, Ann Lawlor, said in the same release, “local tax dollars and donations have created beautiful conservation areas. These local parks and trails should continue to be owned and managed by the people who paid for and use them.”

Critics warn conservation overhaul could weaken protections and heighten flood risks

NDP MPP and environment critic Peter Tabuns criticized the revised plan, calling it “yet another attack on our environment by the Ford government,” while saying that Ontario’s watersheds are unique and have varying individual needs, “that will fall by the wayside when haphazardly lumped together.”

Tabuns further stated that the “red tape” the Ford government is looking to streamline “are the regulations that keep Ontario and its ecosystems safe from contaminated water, flooding, and species loss.”

Leader of the Ontario Green Party, MPP Mike Schreiner, echoed those concerns, saying, “Every year, communities across Ontario face increasingly dangerous flood risks. Now, this government wants to sink millions into weakening protections.”

The province has said through a posting to Ontario’s Environmental Registry that the “important work that [Conservation Authorities] do to protect people and property from the risks of flooding and other natural hazards would not change.”

A coalition of critics, comprised of Ontario Nature, the National Farmers Union-Ontario and the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations, along with the newly formed Watershed Conservation Coalition, which is a group of 74 professional individuals with decades of watershed management experience they say, stated as part of a media backgrounder that the Ford government has “provided no evidence to support that consolidation will accelerate housing development, while still supporting public safety from natural hazards and the protection of natural, scientific and recreational lands.”

They also said of the change, “This sweeping consolidation and centralized political control will impede CAs’ ability to do their work effectively.”

The Ford government indicated that it consulted for 45 days “with conservation authorities, municipalities, general stakeholders, and Indigenous communities,” a process they say “included six regional workshops that engaged directly with conservation authority and municipal leadership,” between Nov 7 and Dec 22 in 2025.

As a result of those consultations, the province updated the proposal, moving from the proposed 7 Conservation Authorities instead to 9, to “accommodate areas with distinct geographies and development contexts, to better balance differing priorities across rural, urban and northern areas and improve alignment with watersheds and with source protection regions,” said an update on Ontario’s Environmental Registry.

Tony Morris, Conservation Policy and Campaigns Director for Ontario Nature, in response to the updated proposal, said to The Field & Shutter Press in an email that he was “disappointed that they continue to move forward with such a drastic overhaul and claim that this approach addresses concerns.”

Province says changes will streamline approvals

The Ford government said the changes are intended to address what it describes as a “patchwork” of standards, service delivery, data systems and administration across the province’s conservation authorities, according to a released document.

The province says differences in policies, fees, staffing, and technical capacity between authorities have created “unpredictable and inconsistent turnaround times for approvals,” leading to delays for builders, landowners, and farmers seeking permits.

However, it’s unclear how the new change will affect approvals, as Tony Morris said, “No business case has been provided on how this consolidation solves the problem the province is claiming exists,” while highlighting that “in 2024 the Conservation Authorities issued over 7,000 permits with 96% issued within timelines.”

Over 14,000 public comments received

During the public comment period on Ontario’s Environmental Registry regarding the change, over 14,000 submissions were received, which the province says “helped shape the government’s plan,” regarding the “final boundaries for regional CAs, governance of regional CAs, and the transition process.”

They said that the adjustment “from the proposed seven regional conservation authorities to nine” resulted from the feedback received.

However, Tony Morris from Ontario Nature noted that the update lacked any information regarding the nature of those comments, saying there was “no summary of, for, or against this proposal, with the information on changes in response to feedback vague.”

Something Morris said is “part of a pattern that we are seeing that the Auditor General has flagged. Ontarians’ rights to participate meaningfully in environmental decision-making are being eroded.”

The Auditor General of Ontario reports annually on the Environmental Bill of Rights, legislation intended to ensure Ontarians have the rights mentioned by Morris.

Conservation Ontario, a not-for-profit organization that represents the 36 current authorities, said in a letter of the original proposal, “Conservation authorities, municipalities, and Conservation Ontario remain concerned that the scale of the proposed regional consolidation may be too large to preserve successful watershed management in Ontario.”

The Field & Shutter Press reached out to Conservation Ontario for a response to the changes, but did not receive one prior to publication.

Another submission was from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, which represents farmers, saying, “Ontario has 19 Source Protection Regions (SPRs) and a total of 38 Source Protection Areas (SPAs) established under the Clean Water Act, 2006.”

They previously proposed utilizing the existing Source Protection Regions as a model for the new boundaries, saying, “We believe creating 19 Regional CAs based on the Source Protection Regional (SPR) structure would better preserve a watershed-based approach while offering more geographically coherent boundaries and stronger local accountability than a system of only seven Regions.”

Tyler Brooks, Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said to The Field & Shutter Press that their initial submission “still broadly reflects [the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s] perspective,” after the updated proposal.

Mixed feedback, says Ontario’s Home Builders Association

The Ontario Home Builders Association describes itself as the “leading voice for the province’s building, land development, and renovation industry,” stating they represent “4,000 member companies across 28 local associations,” according to their website.

In their initial response to the changes, the association said they received feedback from “builders, developers, engineers, planners, and consultants,” reflecting a “wide diversity of perspectives.” The very same groups that the province has said the changes will benefit.

One of the consistent themes identified by the members was to “carefully distinguish between the objectives of conservation authority reform and the mechanisms proposed to achieve those objectives.”

While there was “broad alignment around the need for greater consistency,” they state there was “no uniform view that boundary consolidation alone will deliver these outcomes.”

The association further explained that many of the “day-to-day challenges with conservation authorities arise not from the number of authorities or the configuration of their boundaries,” but instead from how “policies are interpreted, how files are reviewed, how timelines are managed, and how duplication between agencies is addressed.”

However, some see it as a “necessary structural reform” that could “enable improvements in these areas if implemented thoughtfully and with appropriate safeguards.”

They say the differing views of their members do “not reflect disagreement on environmental protection or public safety,” but instead, “reflects differing assessments of institutional risk, governance effectiveness, and the likelihood that consolidation will meaningfully improve outcomes without introducing new challenges.”

When reached for comment on the updated proposal, Kirstin Jensen, Vice President, Policy, Advocacy & Relationships for the Ontario Home Builders Association, said that the ultimate goal of the Association is “to ensure that conservation authority processes continue to protect communities and natural hazards while also supporting timely housing and infrastructure delivery across Ontario.”

New provincial agency to oversee transition

The province created the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency last fall to oversee the transition. The agency will coordinate the consolidation process, which the government says is expected to be completed by early 2027.

“The Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency would lead a smooth, well‑supported transition, ensuring conservation authorities have the tools and resources they need every step of the way to deliver effective watershed management programs, meeting the needs of today and the future,” said Hassaan Basit, Ontario’s Chief Conservation Executive, and former CEO of Conservation Halton.

The Ford government has indicated that “$3 million, beginning in 2026,” would be provided to the agency, with the money supporting “conservation authorities as needed during the transition period.”

So what’s happening for Halton Region?

In an email to The Field & Shutter Press in March, Conservation Halton Communications Specialist Tamanna Kohi said, “After the planned consolidation occurs in early 2027, Conservation Halton will become part of the Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority that continues to operate as an independent public body with a municipally appointed Board.”

The Consolidation is currently planned for completion by February 1, 2027.

Kohi also explained that proposed changes should have “no impact on how our local communities interact with [Conservation Halton] and the programs and events they know and love.”

In a March 30 release, the organization further stated, “the valued programs and services currently offered by Conservation Halton, including planning and permitting activities, educational initiatives, stewardship opportunities, recreational spaces and programs, and support for local environmental projects, will remain accessible and uninterrupted throughout this transition period.”

They state that for now they “remain focused on our mandate to safeguard people and property from floods, managing and enhancing watershed resiliency through watershed-based resource management programs, and connection communities with nature through conservation areas and park programs.”

The Conservation Halton Foundation, the charitable foundation that supports Conservation Halton, has said on its website that there will be no changes to its operations.

“Conservation Halton Foundation is a separately incorporated, registered charity, overseen by its Board of Directors,” the website explains. It further states that, “The Foundation will continue to monitor developments and work closely with Conservation Halton to support the programs and places that matter most to our community.”

Credit Valley Conservation did not respond to requests for comment from The Field & Shutter Press prior to publication on how the changes may affect its operations.

While locally the changes may be minimal in how residents interact with their conservation authorities, critics argue the province hasn’t shown how consolidation will solve the problems it identified, warning it could weaken local watershed management and leave communities more vulnerable to rising flood risks.

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Ontario’s government has promised that proposed corporations to manage water and wastewater will be entirely publicly owned. But an opinion from a University of British Columbia law professor called the legislation an example of “stealth privatization” of the municipal services.

The Water and Wastewater Corporations Act, introduced in November through omnibus Bill 60, authorizes the municipal affairs minister to require particular lower-tier municipalities to provide water services through newly created public corporations.

In early March, in response to criticism that the legislation would hand over Ontario’s drinking water system to for-profit businesses, the government proposed amendments to the act through a new bill, Bill 98, to clarify rules around who can own shares of the corporation and quell fears of privatization.

Joel Bakan, a UBC law professor, was asked to assess the bill by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Bakan said that from a legal perspective, Bill 98 “is going to have the same impacts on communities in terms of water services as a fully privatized scheme.”

The Ontario government argues that because legislation limits the potential owners of shares for the new companies to public entities, that means nothing has been privatized.

“But that’s a fairly slippery notion,” he said, and there are two reasons Bill 98 doesn’t avoid privatizing water services.

As written, shares of water and wastewater corporations can only be issued to “a municipality, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada or an agent of any of them.”

While governments and municipalities are public entities, “it’s not impossible, and quite typical, that they can designate as an agent a private company, a for-profit company or a company that they own,” meaning ownership of the water companies could easily fall into private hands, Bakan said.

In his analysis of Bill 98, Bakan wrote that entities like the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the Build Ontario Fund already operate as agents of the federal and provincial governments to attract and facilitate private investments in infrastructure projects. Public-private partnerships among these entities, governments and the private sector could enable private ownership and control of water and wastewater services, he explained.

The act also requires that the water companies be incorporated as for-profit corporations under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. Bakan said this change in legal structure shifts the priorities of the company, and control over it, toward an obligation to shareholder earnings and away from communities.

“It operates along the same lines and with the same imperative as a for-profit company. You’ve completely financialized water services and you’ve made the financial return to the owners, even if they are a public entity, a priority over the public interests that communities, employees and individuals have in regard to water services,” he said.

Premier Doug Ford’s government is piloting the new water and wastewater delivery model in the Peel Region, which it says will give municipalities more tools to respond to growth and cut costs for homebuyers.

By 2029, jurisdiction over water utilities will be transferred from the Peel Region to its constituent cities; Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. Those three cities would jointly own the province’s first water and wastewater corporation, “subject to future regulations setting out the share allocation,” according to legislation.

The Ford government has repeatedly denied that the new legislation contains plans to privatize services or undercut the decisions made by local councils and communities.

The mayors of Pelham, Thorold, Fort Erie, Wainfleet, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Colborne, Grimsby, St. Catherines and West Lincoln co-authored a letter to Ford in late March expressing support for plans to create water and wastewater corporations to manage services in their communities. Two of the nine mayors have also denied any intention to privatize those utilities.

The Office of Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. In other reports, a government spokesperson called claims that the province plans to privatize water resources “factually incorrect” and “misleading.”

Andrew Biro, a professor at Acadia University politics department, said privatization means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but scenarios where a private company has total control of who gets water or what it charges are “vanishingly rare.”

More often, what people are referring to when they talk about privatization are public-private partnerships.

“That can describe a whole range of things in which private actors or for-profit corporations get involved in building water infrastructure, overseeing, maintaining it, actually delivering the water, maybe, having some control over the actual water itself,” Biro said.

While these partnerships mean there is some degree of public control over utilities maintained, “the same kind of conflicts or tensions can arise.”

Biro said there is some truth to the idea that private sector organizations, especially for-profit businesses, can deliver goods more efficiently because they are incentivized to minimize costs.

“If cost is your only concern, then that’s fine, but if you have other kinds of concerns — as I think we should with respect to water — then maybe you don’t want to have the absolute lowest cost if it means sacrificing safety, for example,” he said.

People want water that is safe, convenient and affordable, Biro said. If it’s delivered as a public service, government subsidies can ensure that those three things happen.

“And if it’s delivered as a commercial good, then it’s not necessarily guaranteed that all three of those things can happen. So it might mean increased costs to deliver the same level of safety or cleanliness and convenience, or it might mean, if we want to keep costs lower, … declines in quality, declines in potentially cutting corners in terms of safety,” he said.

Matt Manassis, an Guelph, Ont.,-based water worker and vice-president of CUPE Local 241, said the way Bills 60 and 98 leave many questions about the future of Ontario’s water system.

The ways the bills are written are “deliberately ambiguous,” he said. “Even if the plan is not to immediately privatize, they are packaging up a water utility in such a way that it could just as easily be sold, or opened up to investment from private investors, private owners, at the stroke of a pen.”

That worries him, because a public system is more accountable, he said. “If you have an issue with your water, you phone up your city councillor … there’s a very direct line.”

Public water workers are also “socially accountable” to their neighbours. “We know the people who live near us. They know that we’re working on their water treatment system. They trust us,” he said.

More investments are needed in water infrastructure, he said, but he urged the public not to believe that privatization “is the only way to invest in a public good.”

With the creation of the public corporations, the more than 8,000 drinking water operators tasked with maintaining municipal drinking water systems across the province have so far been left in the dark about what it could mean for their jobs, Manassis said.

“Water is so fundamental and so important to everybody, we all need it, we all use it. It should be a public utility that’s operated by the people who use it,” he said.

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APRIL IN REVIEW

Howdy everyone, I hope you have all been doing well.

This month has been a difficult one for our small team keeping pace with the news cycle. Because of that, you may have noticed that we didn’t publish any standalone articles this month.

When we publish a story, our goal is to go deep, moving beyond the headlines to explain how events impact you, while maintaining the highest factual standards

Given the sheer volume of news this month, we realized we couldn’t meet those standards individually. Rather than sacrifice quality for quantity, we decided to instead focus on the top stories in this month’s edition of The Field & Shutter Press.

While the news cycle has been hectic, nature has been slower-paced this year as spring makes its way across Ontario, and this edition highlights some of the new growth and wildlife you can currently spot throughout the Halton Region.

Thank you for sticking with us.

Until the next one,

-Greg

What’s springing up around Halton?

As spring makes its slow but steady return to Ontario, let’s take a look at some of the flora and fauna that you can find popping up around the Halton Region.

Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

Carolina Springbeauty (Claytonia caroliniana)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Beach raking occurs prior to expected Wasaga Piping Plover return

Piping Plovers are set to return to Wasaga Beach any day now, but recent activities by the Town of Wasaga Beach may have complicated that, after a section of known nesting habitat was mechanically groomed.

On April 21, Mayor of Wasaga Beach, Brian Smith, said in a statement that the Town and Council are committed to “transparency and responsible stewardship,” before acknowledging that an “operational error on the beachfront” had occurred.

“The Town is aware that a small area near Spruce Street at Beach Area 1 was mechanically groomed in error on April 13. This was a mistake, and almost immediately, the activity was flagged and stopped. Careful steps have been taken to ensure that this does not happen again,” said Mayor Smith.

The area of Beach 1 near Spruce Street was previously highlighted by Sydney Shepherd, Ontario Piping Plover Program Coordinator with Birds Canada, in an email to The Field & Shutter Press earlier this year.

“Piping Plover require natural beach areas that contain the necessary habitat features to allow them to nest, feed, camouflage, and raise their young, like the area east of Spruce Street at Beach Area 1. If this area is significantly altered, Piping Plover will be left vulnerable to predators, without food, or without places to raise their families,” Shepherd wrote.

This activity also prompted a legal action filed by Ecojustice on behalf of Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence Canada. Their lawsuit is seeking a court order to force the federal environmental minister to issue an order to protect the Piping Plover’s habitat from “damage by the Town and third parties,” according to the release.

The reason April is such an important month for the Wasaga Piping Plovers is that this is when they are due to return during spring migration.

The Town of Wasaga Beach also announced this month, on April 9th, in a recent press release, that they are “collaborating with Birds Canada to support the protection and monitoring of Piping Plovers through targeted training and coordinated stewardship along the beachfront.”

However, on April 10th, Birds Canada circulated an email to their Piping Plover network stating they are “not currently in a formal partnership with the Town and was not aware of or involved in the announcement shared on April 9th.”

The email also clarified that on April 9th, Birds Canada led an “introductory training session for Wasaga Beach Town Staff with in-class and in-field training,” and stated that they look forward to similar opportunities in the future.

But the roles of each organization are unclear, with Birds Canada saying, “There is still some uncertainty around the roles of Town staff versus those of Birds Canada — we are seeking clarification on this.”

A full report surrounding the Piping Plover at Wasaga Beach is being prepared by The Field & Shutter Press and is expected to be published within the coming days.

A new lawsuit announced against Ontario’s Bill 5

On April 8, Ecojustice, on behalf of Democracy Watch, Environmental Defence Canada, Wildlands League and Friends of the Earth Canada, filed a constitutional challenge against Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, which was passed on June 5th, 2025, after being rushed through by the Ford government.

Within Bill 5 was the Special Economic Zones Act (SEZA), a piece of legislation that gave Cabinet what the group describes as “extraordinary power.”

They argue that when the Province gave Cabinet the ability to select and designate projects that would be exempt from provincial or municipal by-laws, that they overstepped in doing so stating “Under section 92 and the internal structure of the Constitution Act, 1867, only the Legislature has the authority to make laws,” while adding “By giving Cabinet the power to effectively rewrite any law at will, the province has gone too far.”

Alcohol rules relaxed in Ontario Parks

Legal-aged adults can now responsibly consume alcohol in most day-use areas of Ontario Provincial Parks that are open and staffed, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Todd McCarthy, told reporters at a press conference at Bronte Creek Provincial Park, April 15.

The provincial government says this change will make it easier to enjoy time with friends and family, “while supporting a stronger tourism industry that creates jobs and drives economic growth across the province.”

Existing laws like those regarding public intoxication, underage drinking, and impaired driving are still in full effect and will be enforced by Park Wardens and other authorities.

The Minister said the province has a team of 550 wardens responsible for enforcement. However, the Ministry did not respond to questions by the deadline about whether this figure includes park superintendents, full-time staff, and contract workers.

It also remains unclear how the Ministry will handle empty container recycling, and questions on the matter were not answered prior to publication.

- Section written by: Hayley Reid-Ginis, with files from Greg Noakes

Help Shape the Future of Halton’s Regional Forests

The Regional Municipality of Halton is seeking feedback to inform its 2025-2044 Halton Regional Forest Management Plan. Information collected will be used to “guide how Regional Forests are cared for, used, and protected over the next 20 years,” according to the survey.

The online survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is open until Tuesday, May 19th. Find it here, email forests@halton.ca, or call 311.

Halton’s Regional Forests span 695 hectares across 14 properties and include a mix of diverse habitats for wildlife, including several rare species, according to the Region’s website. Residents can explore them using the 19 km of single-track trails along with 20km of access roads throughout the regional forests.

It is important to note that this plan specifically covers Halton Regional Forests only, not those managed by Conservation Halton or local municipalities (Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville).

Not sure who manages what? Check the Regional Forest tract maps.

- Section written by: Hayley Reid-Ginis

IN OTHER NEWS

In the “In Other News” section, we’ll share interesting updates and discoveries from the past month. Expect highlights on photography, nature, wildlife, conservation, and environmental topics.

Ontario Nature highlights role of public in pollinator conservation

Published on: 23/04/2026
Tracking pollinator sightings is more important than ever for protecting Ontario’s at-risk species. Liz Ellis explores how you can support local biodiversity by joining community science initiatives. Click here to read more.

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MARCH IN REVIEW

Howdy everyone, I hope you have all been doing well.

This month brought with it the first day of spring, being March 20! Turkey Vultures have already been spotted soaring high along the Niagara Escarpment, and Red-winged Blackbirds have made their presence known as these migrants make their return.

I’m also happy to announce that for those of you interested in my photography, locally, you can find me in the Spring issue of Niagara Escarpment Views.

Speaking of other places you can find me, I also had an article published by The Narwhal this month, regarding the recent designation of the Kinross Gold Mine under the “One Project, One Process” framework.

Despite the wacky weather this month in Ontario, I hope you’ve all enjoyed the occasional unseasonably warm days.

Until the next one
-Greg

Signs of Spring Around Halton Region

Signs of spring are popping up all across the Halton Region. In Burlington, the City has begun its annual closure of King Road to facilitate the spring migration of the Jefferson Salamander.

You can read our full story, which explains “Why a tiny salamander is shutting down a Burlington road.”

Meanwhile, across the Region, a sweeter spring tradition was unfolding in sugar bushes at Bronte Creek Provincial Park, Conservation Halton, and Credit Valley Conservation, with the return of Maple Syrup Festivals celebrating the natural treat.

“Maple syrup production depends on a narrow window of weather conditions. Cold nights followed by mild days create the pressure changes that allow sap to flow,” according to a blog post by Kimberley Laird, an Associate in Marketing and Communications at Credit Valley Conservation Authority.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture says that Canada is the leader in Maple Syrup production, with farmers harvesting “119.5 million kilograms of maple syrup last year,” according to a release.

“Maple syrup is a product that truly connects people to the land and to the farmers who produce it and we encourage everyone to celebrate the start of spring with a taste of the country’s most iconic flavour,” said Angela Field, a farmer and director with the Federation.

For those looking to purchase some maple syrup, the Federation recommends visiting the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association website.

Lastly, in Halton Hills, the Toronto Chapter of the Bruce Trail Conservancy has announced a closure of the Credit Valley Foot Path, between River Dr and Barraclough Blvd, “due to a mix of seasonal flooding and local construction in the area,” according to a posting by the club.

The club notes that the duration of the closure is currently unknown.

Together, they are all sure signs that spring has arrived.

Endangered Species Act Repealed, New Species Conservation Act Takes Effect

By an Order in Council, March 30 was designated as the day when the Endangered Species Act would be formally repealed. A move the Ford Government had previously made when passing Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025.

The legislation has now been formally replaced by the new Species Conservation Act.

Ontario Conservation Authorities to Consolidate From 36 to 9

The Ford government announced on March 10 that the province’s 36 Conservation Authorities will be consolidated into nine regional bodies. A move the province says will streamline approvals, but critics warn could weaken local watershed management.

This follows a previous proposal to consolidate to just 7 Conservation Authorities, which drew significant criticism.

Conservation authorities are local agencies responsible for watershed management, flood prevention, environmental protection and development permitting across Ontario.

“Ontario’s improved approach would feature watershed-based regional conservation authorities operating under consistent provincial standards, modern tools and strengthened capacity – delivering stronger watershed management, flood resilience and better support for housing and infrastructure growth,” said Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Todd McCarthy, in a press release.

Locally, Conservation Halton and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) would merge to form the new Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority, which would also absorb the Hamilton Conservation Authority and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

Credit Valley Conservation Authority’s Board has “condemned,” they say, as part of a press release, that the proposed actions “disrupt one of the province’s most efficient and high-performing conservation authorities.”

Mayor of Halton Hills and a member of the CVC Board, Ann Lawlor, said in the same release, “In the Credit River Watershed, from Island Lake in Orangeville, through the lands of the Credit Valley Trail to Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area on the Mississauga shore of Lake Ontario, local tax dollars and donations have created beautiful conservation areas. These local parks and trails should continue to be owned and managed by the people who paid for and use them.”

The Field & Shutter Press is working to provide a full report on the proposed changes.

Ford Government Fast-Tracks Gold Mine Opposed by Grassy Narrows First Nation

At a February 17 press conference, Ontario Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce announced the Ford government would fast-track Kinross Gold’s Great Bear Project under the “One Project, One Process” framework created by Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.

The move comes after Grassy Narrows First Nation (Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek) successfully challenged a permit to take water issued to the Great Bear Project last year under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights. The permit would have allowed sulphate discharges into local waterways.

Grassy Narrows’ waters are already contaminated with mercury from a pulp and paper mill that discharged the chemical into the English-Wabigoon river system for decades. Scientists warn sulphates can accelerate the formation of methylmercury, an even more toxic form of mercury.

You can read the full story about how “Ontario fast-tracks gold mine despite Grassy Narrows’ concerns — and a pending lawsuit.”

Doug Ford Wins ‘Don’t Bulldoze our Future’ Award from Climate Activists

On March 12, at a press conference at Queen’s Park, Grand(m)others Act To Save The Planet (GASP) presented Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford with its “Don’t Bulldoze Our Future” award, criticizing what the group described as his government’s environmental decisions.

“It is always a pleasure to present an award to a recipient who deserves recognition for their good work and achievements serving their community,” said Sharon Sommerville of GASP, before adding, “but not today.”

She said GASP regrets “that we have to present the 2026 ‘don’t bulldoze our future’ award to our Premier, Doug Ford.”

Sommerville said that this award is “for his work to pave over thousands of acres of precious farmland, destroy critical woodlots that clean our air and wetlands that prevent floods, wasting apparently unlimited tax dollars in doing so.”

Premier Doug Ford was not present to accept the award in person. It was delivered to his office after the press conference.

The premier’s office did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.

Read the full story in our article, “Environmental group gives Doug Ford ‘Don’t Bulldoze Our Future’ award, rally announced.”

GASP also hosted a “Don’t Bulldoze our Future” rally on March 26 at Queen’s Park.

The Field & Shutter Press will have a full report on the rally prepared for the April issue.

THE FIELD & SHUTTER PRESS

FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS

CONSERVATION & WILDLIFE NEWS

IN OTHER NEWS

In the "In Other News" section, we’ll share interesting updates and discoveries from the past month. Expect highlights on photography, nature, wildlife, conservation, and environmental topics.

Ford government shrinking your right to know

Published on: 13/MAR/2026
The Ford government plans to change freedom-of-information laws to block public access to records from the premier’s and ministers’ offices, potentially applying the changes retroactively. Click here to read more

After 102 days, the Ontario Legislature returned this month.

Published on: 23/MAR/2026
The Ontario Legislature is back in session for the spring, after a 102-day absence. Click here to read more

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On March 12, at a press conference at Queen’s Park, Grand(m)others Act To Save The Planet (GASP) presented Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford with its “Don’t Bulldoze Our Future” award, criticizing what the group described as his government’s environmental decisions.

GASP describes itself as a grassroots environmental organization.

“It is always a pleasure to present an award to a recipient who deserves recognition for their good work and achievements serving their community,” said Sharon Sommerville of GASP, before adding, “but not today.”

She said GASP regrets “that we have to present the 2026 ‘don’t bulldoze our future’ award to our Premier, Doug Ford.”

Sommerville said that this award is “for his work to pave over thousands of acres of precious farmland, destroy critical woodlots that clean our air and wetlands that prevent floods, wasting apparently unlimited tax dollars in doing so.”

Premier Doug Ford was not present to accept the award in person. It was delivered to his office after the press conference.

The premier’s office did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.

“We are here today because we are extremely concerned with Premier Ford’s policies that recklessly remove safeguards that protect our natural assets,” Kathy Geczi, a member of GASP, said.

Green Party Leader and Guelph MPP, Mike Schreiner, sponsored the press conference, saying of the award, “I’m glad to see members of our community stand up to the Ford government to fight for nature and for Ontario’s future,” adding, “Time after time, this government puts corporate interests above the well-being of everyday people and future generations.”

GASP was joined by Kevin Thomason from the Grand River Environmental Network and Dr. Richard Thomas, a natural resources management expert with over 40 years of experience.

Thomason highlighted the situation in Waterloo Region, where development is currently halted due to a water shortage, following the Ford government's approval of over 100 permits to take water in the region.

He called on the Ford government to “immediately implement a moratorium on water taking permits and new gravel pits.”

Green Party MPP for Kitchener Centre, Aislinn Clancy, submitted a letter to the Ministry responsible, stating, “About 80 per cent of our water used in our homes, schools, businesses and industries comes from underground sources.” She also said that “Approving industrial and commercial water-taking permits would put further strain on an already-stressed water system.”

It was also announced that GASP would be hosting a “Don’t Bulldoze Our Future” rally at Queen’s Park on March 26 from 12 pm to 1 pm.

Environmental record criticized

The group criticized Premier Ford for what they called a “constant attack on our land,” citing actions such as “removing municipal regulations and regional oversight, transferring provincial park land for development, expanding urban boundaries onto farmland, reducing the amount of greenspace in neighbourhoods, indiscriminately using Ministerial Zoning Orders that bypass municipal planning and community input, and creating Special Economic Zones that fast-track development without having to adhere to environmental, health, labour or safety laws,” said Victoria Creese of GASP.

Ford has also “weakened species’ protections by replacing the Endangered Species Act with the inadequate Species Conservation Act,” she said.

Ontario Nature, alongside 100 other nature and conservation-based organizations, submitted a letter to the Ford government when changes to the Endangered Species Act were first being proposed, saying, “The text and preamble of the Species Conservation Act creates an impression that it is purely performative and is not intended to prevent the ongoing decline of endangered species in practice.”

Under the new Species Conservation Act, “no migratory birds, aquatic species or species of special concern will be provincially listed,” with the reasoning being that the species “already receive federal protection under the Species at Risk Act (SARA),” according to a blog posted in January by Tony Morris, Conservation Policy and Campaigns Director for Ontario Nature.

“The new law would define animal ‘habitat’ to mean only the nest, den, or immediate area around it,” and “This would leave species that are already in decline due to habitat loss, without the basic things they need to survive,” according to a 2025 post from Ecojustice.

The Ford government, through an update to a public posting about the proposed change, said that the changes will “help speed up project timelines and provide greater certainty for proponents, while protecting species.”

When combined with the transfers of provincial park lands, it has left the Piping Plover at Wasaga Beach, an endangered species, without adequate protection, critics have said. Environmental groups, including Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence, have called on the federal government to issue an emergency protection order.

In 2024, the Auditor General of Ontario reported that the Ford government issued 17 times more Ministerial Zoning Orders from 2019 to 2023 than in the previous 20 years.

“MZOs allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to unilaterally designate lands for development without public input,” even if that land has already been zoned for other purposes, according to Ontario Nature.

The Ford government has argued that the orders are necessary to speed up development and create jobs.

GASP also criticized the province’s recently announced plan to merge 36 conservation authorities into 9.

Nature’s economic benefit highlighted

“Nature is now recognized as key to most business value chains as it provides over half of the global economy,” said Dr. Richard Thomas during the press conference.

According to research from PwC, one of the world's ‘big four’ accounting firms, in 2023, “More than half (55%) of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) – equivalent to an estimated US $58 trillion – is moderately or highly dependent on nature.”

That global dependence is also reflected here at home, according to a recent study by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society: “Every $1 spent on protected and conserved areas generates $3.62 in visitor spending, driving GDP growth, jobs, income, and tax revenue.”

Dr. Thomas also talked about Nature-Based Solutions, which he defined as “actions to protect, conserve, restore, and sustainably use natural resources with the aim to address economic and environmental challenges.” He states that these are “more than the usual environmentalist’s themes of trees, bees and farmers,” and are also applicable to industries, “including utilities, construction, infrastructure, and chemicals,” highlighting one example of self-repairing concrete, which he explained uses bacteria to fix cracks.

Additionally, Dr. Thomas pointed to other examples, such as Toronto’s Green Standard, which he described as “combining natural solutions with traditional infrastructure,” but he highlighted that recent legislative changes, such as Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, have placed it under threat.

When Bill 60 was introduced, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Rob Flack, said that the government is building a “prosperous, resilient and competitive economy” by removing “costly delays and regulatory burdens that slow the delivery of homes, roads and infrastructure that communities need.”

The Ford government was criticized by the Auditor General, Shelley Spence, in her 2025 report for failing to consult Ontarians on legislative changes in Bill 17 that restricted municipalities’ ability to set their own green building standards.

“The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing did not consult Ontarians about a legislative amendment meant to prevent municipalities from creating and enforcing their own green building standards,” said the report.

The Auditor General also found that the Ford government had failed to inform the public of the environmental risks of the proposed Highway 413 project, saying that, “The Environment Ministry did not describe these [environmental] impacts in the proposal notice and did not provide any information about whether these impacts would be assessed through the new process, or how significant impacts would be mitigated.”

“It is time Premier Ford recognized that our natural assets provide financially valuable services on which we depend,” said Creese.

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It may sound unusual, but every year since 2012, King Road has been closed to traffic to provide a safe passage for the endangered Jefferson salamander, a joint effort by the City of Burlington and Conservation Halton.

From March 11 until April 8, King Road, from North Service Road to Granite Ridge Trail in Hamilton will be closed “to allow the ‘Jeffies’ to cross the road safely in their search to find a mate,” and re-open on April 9, “when the salamanders are predicted to finish their annual crossing,” according to a release from the City.

“Each year, the return of the Jefferson salamanders is one of Burlington’s most meaningful signs of spring,” Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said in the same release.

Those signs of spring are warming temperatures, as the migration and road closures are “dictated by the weather” and “because it’s the spring, it’s their time to start breeding and looking for their ponds,” explained Siobhán Ewert, lead monitoring technician with Conservation Halton.

The salamanders are quite committed to their breeding ponds, “They have kind of like an internal GPS,” Ewert said. “They return to the exact same pond that they were born in to start that next generation, so they are very tied to that.”

The ‘Jeffies’ are a type of “mole salamander species,” she explained, which, as the name may suggest, means they burrow underground. “They’re in through all the crevices and rock formations of the ground, and in the springtime they emerge,” she added.

Because King Road sits directly between their underground wintering areas and those ponds, “it acts as like a safety bridge” when it’s closed, Ewert said.

The Niagara Escarpment, which runs through Halton Region, creates the rocky habitat that the salamanders rely on. That’s also one reason “we can't easily build tunnels” for the salamanders, she said.

The salamanders also play an important ecological role through a process known as nutrient cycling. Because they live both in water and on land during their life cycle, the salamanders help move nutrients from ponds into surrounding forests, acting as a natural fertilizer in woodland ecosystems, according to Ewert.

“They eat a large amount of mosquito larvae when they’re young, which naturally keeps the bug population in check,” she added.

Jefferson salamanders are brown or grey-coloured on their backs, flecked with blue along their sides and can be anywhere from 12 to 20 cm in length, with long tails that make up half of that length.

According to Ontario Nature, they breed in swamps, ponds, marshes, or even roadside ditches, overwintering underground in forests. Females can lay up to 300 eggs in small clumps attached to underwater plants, and the eggs hatch in three to four weeks, with larvae transforming into adults by late summer. They state that “Jefferson salamanders are also killed on roads every spring during their migration to breeding ponds,” highlighting why the road closure is necessary.

Unlike most smaller animals, which tend to have shorter lifespans, the Jefferson salamander can live up to 30 years.

“We are pleased to share that since the first King Road closure in 2012, we have observed no Jefferson salamander road mortality in that area during the migration period,” said former Conservation Halton president and CEO Hassaan Basit in a 2022 press release, highlighting the impact the road closure has had on protecting the endangered species.

The Jefferson salamander was added to Ontario’s endangered species list in 2011, and since 2012, the City has worked with Conservation Halton to protect the species.

While many conservation efforts require active volunteering, protecting this species during migration is surprisingly passive.

“By staying home, that's the most that people can do to protect the Jefferson salamander and stay off the roads, just so that they can make their journey to their pond safely,” Ewert said.

She also explained that people should avoid touching the animals if they encounter them, because chemicals on their hands can be absorbed through the salamanders’ skin. Products such as bug spray, hand sanitizer and skin creams can harm them.

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FEBRUARY IN REVIEW

Howdy everyone, I hope you have all been doing well.

After the heavy snow and cold weather that swept through Ontario this February, it may be hard to believe that the first day of Spring is only 20 days away. Environment and Climate Change Canada has also announced that 2026 will be “among the hottest years on record.”

This month, I’m pleased to share that The Field & Shutter Press has reached another milestone: surpassing 300 subscribers! Thank you to everyone who continues to support this publication. Your support is sincerely appreciated.

As we grow, our commitment to the facts remains paramount. To help increase accountability and transparency, I am pleased to announce that The Field & Shutter Press has been accepted as a member of the National NewsMedia Council.

What does this mean?

The NNC is a self-regulatory, non-profit organization committed to maintaining ethical standards in journalism. While we always advise you to first raise concerns directly with our small but mighty team, the Council provides an independent and third-party process to review complaints about our journalistic practices.

Furthermore, to enhance our commitment to transparency, we have established a new page, “Corrections & Clarifications,” that will log all corrections made to work by The Field & Shutter Press from February 10, 2026, onward.

Until the next one,
-Greg

Deadline Looms, No Word Yet on Wasaga Plover Protection

With the March 1 deadline looming, the Federal government remains silent on whether it will issue an emergency order to protect Piping Plover habitats at Wasaga Beach.

In a statement provided to The Field & Shutter Press on February 25, Samantha Bayard, spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), said that they are “working diligently to advise the Minister on the issue as expeditiously as possible,” adding that, “ECCC will share next steps soon.”

They did not directly answer questions about whether the Minister will meet the March 1 deadline.

Advocates from Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence have warned that proposed mechanical beach raking, planned for the spring by the Town of Wasaga Beach, could be “catastrophic” for the endangered shorebirds, as the practice would destroy their habitat.

However, in a statement provided to The Field & Shutter Press, Mayor of Wasaga Beach Brian Smith has said, “No sensitive habitat is being threatened.”

Checkout “Federal review underway on emergency protection for Wasaga Piping Plovers” for the full story.

Coyote Activity Increases During Mating Season

Have you noticed more coyotes lately? You’re not alone. In an email to The Field & Shutter Press, Conservation Halton’s Ecology Monitoring Lead, Gabby Zagorski, explained that the increase in activity is mainly due to mating season.

According to the City of Burlington, the mating season occurs between January and February.

Zagorski explained that during this period, coyotes leave their dens and become more active as they defend their territory and search for a mate or food. They may also yip and bark more frequently to communicate and find a partner, as they prepare to nurse pups in the spring.

“Coyotes usually mate for life,” she also explained. A recent study from Utah State University has even highlighted that coyotes grieve the loss of a partner, similar to humans.

The animals also become more visible due to changes in the landscape. Zagorski noted that “many grasses have died back, deciduous trees and shrubs have lost their leaves,” and crops have been harvested. This makes the coyotes stand out against the snowy white background because of the contrast from their fur, which “can range from red, to brown, to black.”

It’s important to note that coyotes may be more defensive around their den sites, “especially coyotes with young pups,” she said. Which will be born later in the spring.

However, coyotes will typically build their dens far from humans, “usually hidden in sheltered, secluded areas like woodlots, along slopes of ravines and in shrubby areas,” but there have been cases where they have been made “under urban structures like decks or sheds,” Zagorski explained.

Coyote Watch Canada, a not-for-profit organization, advises that if you encounter a coyote, you should use “aversion conditioning,” also sometimes called “hazing.” 

They explain on their website that these are actions “such as shaking car keys, popping an umbrella, throwing an object in the direction of the coyote, such as clumps of dirt, a shake can full of coins, or using a loud, firm voice.”

It’s also important not to turn your back on a coyote or run away, as running can trigger a predator's chase reflex.

“These techniques can restore a coyote’s natural avoidance of humans and minimize interactions,” Coyote Watch Canada’s website states.

When asked whether Conservation Halton has any safety reminders for residents, they listed the following:

• Always secure your garbage and compost in closed containers with locking lids and put them out the morning of their scheduled pickup day

• Keep your property clean of garbage, open green bins, fallen birdseed, etc.

• Never feed or try to tame a coyote

• Do not let pets chase a coyote or roam at large. Always keep dogs on a leash and avoid walking at dusk during mating season

If you’re looking for more information about coyotes in Ontario, you can check out Coyote Watch Canada’s coyote FAQ.

Don’t Let the Chill Fool You: 2026 Set to Be One of Canada’s Hottest Years

Winter's presence was felt this month, reminding Ontario that it was not yet over, as the Weather Network predicts a “sluggish” start to Spring. Meanwhile, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) predicts that 2026 will be a hot year.

Last month, they released their forecast predictions for 2026, saying the year “will likely be among the hottest years on record,” with temperatures approaching levels last seen in 2024.

That year remains the warmest year ever observed, despite having a “comparably warm” 2025, according to the release.

The department’s long-term forecast indicated that the period from 2026 to 2030 will “likely be the hottest five-year period on record.”

Temperatures are expected to remain at historically high levels worldwide, according to ECCC.

THE FIELD & SHUTTER PRESS

IN OTHER NEWS

In the "In Other News" section, we’ll share interesting updates and discoveries from the past month. Expect highlights on photography, nature, wildlife, conservation, and environmental topics.

A rare visitor appeared at a Toronto Park

Published on: 21/FEB/2026
Birders near Toronto’s waterfront spotted a glimpse of a rare King Eider duck. Click here to read more

New study finds birdwatching may slow aging

Published on: 25/FEB/2026
New research suggests that birdwatching isn't just a hobby—it may actually slow the biological effects of aging. Click here to read more

Climate corner: A case against Highway 413

Published on: 23/FEB/2026
In their latest monthly column for HaltonHillsToday, Halton Hills Climate Action’s Jeannine d’Entremont breaks down why the proposed highway won't solve gridlock and the specific risks it poses to local endangered species, including the Redside Dace and Western Chorus Frog. Click here to read more

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The federal government is reviewing a petition from Ecojustice, filed on behalf of Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence, calling for emergency protection of the Piping Plover habitat at Wasaga Beach under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

Eleni Armenakis, a spokesperson with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), said in an emailed statement to The Field & Shutter Press that they are aware of the petition filed and that “At this time, ECCC is assessing the information within the request to determine the appropriate approach.”

The petition, filed on January 27, set a March 1 response deadline, with Armenakis explaining that the assessment “will be conducted in a timely manner, while ensuring that decisions are informed by the best available information.”

The Piping Plover is a small, endangered shorebird that only returned to the province in 2007 and began nesting at Wasaga Beach in 2008.

Mechanical raking threatens Piping Plovers

Ecojustice said in a press release that the groups are concerned that the Town of Wasaga Beach's planned spring mechanical beach raking would destroy critical beach habitat for the Piping Plover, warning that habitat loss at Wasaga Beach would be “catastrophic” for the species.

Beach raking is a maintenance activity that typically uses heavy machinery to drag large rakes across the sand to remove debris. The practice can help remove trash and other unwanted debris, but it also destroys wildlife habitat.

According to Sydney Shepherd, Ontario Piping Plover Program Coordinator with Birds Canada, Wasaga Beach is the most important beach for plovers in Ontario. She said that since 2008, the beach has hosted 59 nests and 87 fledged chicks (a bird that’s able to leave the nest), with over two-thirds of all adult breeding Piping Plovers being hatched at Wasaga Beach.

Within Wasaga Beach, Shepherd highlighted the area east of Spruce Street at Beach One as prime plover habitat.

If the plovers’ habitat were altered, like the proposed mechanical raking, the birds would be left vulnerable to predators, without food, or a place to raise their families, Shepherd explained, adding, “Piping Plover, not just at Wasaga Beach, but all over Ontario, rely on the continued success of nesting at Wasaga Beach.”

Town provides response, some questions remain

In an emailed response to questions asked by The Field & Shutter Press, Sandra Watts, Director of Strategic Communications & Intergovernmental Affairs for the Town of Wasaga Beach, said they are still developing plans for Beach One, which, “includes careful consideration of environmental impacts and collaboration with relevant partners to ensure that species at risk, such as the Piping Plover, are protected.”

In a statement provided by Watts, Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith said the plan is for the town to become a four-season, nature and recreation-based destination that “protects, celebrates, and educates people about the rare dunes, wildlife, and heritage that make Wasaga Beach so unique.” He added that there are “no plans to build on the beach” and that “no sensitive habitat is being threatened.”

However, the Town did not directly respond to questions about whether mechanical beach raking or grooming is planned within Piping Plover habitat at Beach One, or what specific protection measures would be in place during the upcoming nesting season.

In 2019, the Town of South Bruce Peninsula was fined $100,000 by the province after raking and bulldozing part of Saugeen Beach (Sauble Beach) where Piping Plovers were nesting, CTV News reported.

How Piping Plover protections have shifted

These concerns are heightened by recent shifts in Wasaga Beach land management that have altered the protections previously in place for Piping Plovers.

The Piping Plover habitat was protected as part of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park. Dedicated Ontario Parks staff and volunteers maintained nesting areas, effectively guarding individual nests and using specialized fencing that allowed plovers access while keeping people out, explained Phil Pothen, lawyer and Program Manager for Land Use and the Ontario Environment at Environmental Defence in an interview.

That protection was recently lost when the Ford government moved to transfer the land, which includes Beach One, despite substantial public opposition, with more than 98% of feedback during the consultation opposed.

The beach transfer is part of a Ford Government plan to revitalize tourism for Wasaga Beach.

Pothen believes the transfer could proceed without losing those protections. “Everything that they’ve said they want to do, they can do without this transfer, and they can certainly do it without harming the piping plover.”

In addition to the protections under Provincial Park status, the Piping Plover previously had provincial protections under the Endangered Species Act, now replaced by the Species Conservation Act.

The province has said the change was intended to avoid duplication, since Piping Plovers are also covered by federal species-at-risk legislation, said Tony Morris, Conservation Policy and Campaigns Director at Ontario Nature, in an interview.

He added, however, that it is not accurate to call the protections duplicative. “The federal government has often been reluctant to implement the Species at Risk Act effectively, particularly in areas under provincial jurisdiction.”

From the federal perspective, Armenakis noted, the responsibility for conservation is shared by the different levels of government: “The Government of Canada first looks to the provinces and territories for the protection of terrestrial species’ habitat on non-federally administered lands.”

She also explained that SARA aims to prevent species from becoming extinct or extirpated, where a species disappears from a region, as a result of human activity, and to manage species of special concern to prevent them from becoming threatened or endangered.

“The emergency order tool under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was specifically designed for these types of urgent situations where a species is facing imminent threats to its survival or recovery,” said Kegan Pepper-Smith, a lawyer with Ecojustice, in a release.

Pothen described the situation as “a very slam dunk circumstance,” speaking of federal intervention and the issuance of the protection order. “The minister is the watchdog. The burglar is at the gate. It’s time for the minister to bite.”

You may also be interested in

Editor’s Note:
This article was updated on February 10, 2026, at 1:45 p.m. EST to correct the location of the Piping Plover nesting area at Wasaga Beach. Birds Canada clarified that the habitat is east of Spruce Street in Beach Area 1, not west as previously reported. At 5:11 p.m. EST, the article was further updated to correct a quote from Phil Pothen; the Minister was urged to "bite," not "fight."

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JANUARY IN REVIEW

Howdy everyone, happy New Year and welcome to the first issue of 2026!

To kick off the year, I’ve created a photo essay for you that documents my observations throughout 2025 at a single urban park in Halton Hills. You can see what I captured in this month’s photo essay, “Photographing Halton’s Urban Nature.”

Halton Region and other areas across Canada have seen unusual visitors this month, prompting reminders to keep your distance when watching birds.

We’re also talking about a recent court decision that affirmed your right to garden, following a significant court decision this month, along with some winter hiking tips from the Halton Hills chapter of the Toronto Bruce Trail Club.

Lastly, despite overwhelming public opposition, the sale of portions of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park continues to move forward. I’m hoping to provide an update on the sale and its potential impact on the Piping Plover soon.

Until the next one,
- Greg

An Unusual Visitor in Halton Region

A Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi), a gray bird with a distinctive white ring around its eye, typically found in western North America, was unexpectedly spotted this month in Halton Region.

The sighting occurred at Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area and marks the first time the species has been observed on a Conservation Halton property, according to Claire Atherton, a Monitoring Technician at Conservation Halton.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds species profile, the bird is not known to regularly inhabit Ontario, instead favouring the mountainous environments of western North America.

Atherton explained how the bird likely found itself in Halton, “Sometimes bad weather can push migrating birds off course, and they can end up far from their overwintering grounds. It’s possible that this individual was migrating and somehow got blown off course towards Ontario.”

As to why it was at Rattlesnake Point, Atherton suggested that the area’s forested habitat and availability of food, such as berries, may have made it an appealing stopover in an otherwise urban or agricultural landscape.

In its home territory, the Townsend’s Solitaire typically builds its nests along banks or slopes, such as road cuts or riverbanks, and resides in forests such as pine, fir, and spruce, according to the species profile.

Halton’s unique visitor is part of a growing trend of rare bird sightings in Canada: a European Robin, seen in the suburbs of Montreal, Quebec, this month, or a Taiga Flycatcher, which usually resides in Russia, spotted in Vancouver, British Columbia, in December 2025.

Ontario Court Rules in Favour of Naturalized Gardens, Citing Charter Rights

This month, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that sections of a long grass and weed bylaw enacted by the City of Mississauga violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically freedom of expression as it relates to naturalized gardens.

The decision comes as the City of Burlington and local resident Karen Barnes are headed to court over similar circumstances, where Barnes is challenging fines totalling $400,000.

David Donnelly, an environmental lawyer who is representing Barnes, told Canada’s National Observer in a phone interview, “I would hope that Burlington would have the good sense to read this decision and then withdraw the charges against Miss Barnes.”

When contacted by The Field & Shutter Press for comment, the City of Burlington Communications team said it was aware of the recent court decision but did not anticipate any impact on its ongoing case or bylaws. The spokesperson added, “Though the topics may appear similar, Burlington’s by-law differs in its requirements and offers flexibility in supporting the creation and maintenance of naturalized areas.”

The City, however, did not provide details on these differences.

The Communications team also noted that the City supports naturalized gardens, highlighting a dedicated webpage to guide residents on planting and maintaining them.

According to the City, these gardens use less water, require less upkeep, and can help improve the urban forest. The team added, “The City supports residents planting different native and non-invasive plants that thrive together to create a natural habitat.”

Read the full report in this month’s article, “Ontario court victory lets gardens grow wild,” from the Local Journalism Initiative.

Environmental Risks of Highway 413 Weren’t Disclosed

In the Auditor General’s 2025 report on the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR), the Office of the Auditor General found “continued examples of a disregard for the public's rights under the EBR legislation,” said a press release.

One such example is the Highway 413 project. While many critics have pointed out the possible environmental harms of constructing Ontario’s Highway 413 project, the Auditor General found that the Ford government failed to inform Ontarians about the environmental risks posed by its construction when posting to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO). Something they are legally obligated to do under the Environmental Bill of Rights.

You can read the full report in “Ford government failed to disclose environmental and Greenbelt risks of Highway 413, says Auditor General.”

The Field & Shutter Press continues to review the Auditor General's findings, and additional reporting is planned.

Blue Bin Bulletin

Across the province, January 1 marked the transition date for many regions and municipalities in Ontario to the new recycling program operated by Circular Materials, which included Halton Region.

Under the new system, responsibility for recycling has shifted from municipalities to the producers of recyclable materials.

For Halton Residents, the Region’s website confirms the recycling collection schedule will remain the same. Residents can continue placing recycling in blue bins or clear bags. The recycling service will continue to be operated by Miller Waste, the same company that previously operated it. You can contact them with questions about what you can recycle and missed collection dates.

Federal Government Proposing Sandhill Crane Hunting Season in Northern Ontario

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), through its Canadian Wildlife Service division, is proposing a new hunting season for Sandhill Cranes, a species popular among birders, in parts of Northern Ontario, including the Hudson and James Bay regions. If implemented, the season would open in September.

According to the proposal, the season would run for 14 days, with a daily bag limit of one crane and a possession limit of one crane. With a similar season being proposed in Quebec.

The federal government is currently accepting public feedback on the proposal. Those interested in learning more or submitting comments can visit the proposal page.

Ford government did not consider public feedback in Wasaga Beach sale

In 2025, the Ford government proposed selling portions of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park to the Town of Wasaga Beach to boost the Town’s tourism industry. The move, which raised alarms from Environmentalists, required the government to post a notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) to allow Ontarians to share their views on the proposed change.

The ERO proposal received over 14,000 responses, with approximately 98 percent opposing the proposed transfer, citing concerns such as environmental impacts, public access, and “perceived equity and socio-economic concerns,” according to the updated posting.

Despite receiving overwhelming opposition to the proposal, the Ford government did not consider the feedback, with an update on the posting reading, “We did not consider any changes to the proposal based on the feedback received, given the Town of Wasaga Beach’s commitments to keeping the beach public, not building on the beach, and protecting environmentally sensitive dunes.”

THE FIELD & SHUTTER PRESS

FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS

CONSERVATION & WILDLIFE NEWS

FIELD NOTES & PERSPECTIVES

NATURE KNOW-HOW

IN OTHER NEWS

In the "In Other News" section, we’ll share interesting updates and discoveries from the past month. Expect highlights on photography, nature, wildlife, conservation, and environmental topics.

An Important Fight for Press Freedoms in Canada

Published on: 13/JAN/2026
This month, an important court case is underway in BC. Although this isn’t a direct environmental story, it could affect how The Field & Shutter Press and other journalists report from the field during police enforcement actions. It’s an important case for press freedom, and your right to know. Click here to read more

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In this Field Notes photo essay, I hope to convince you, as I’ve convinced myself, that great photos and nature can be found wherever you’re willing to look.

Near a busy intersection in Norval is the site of a former trailer park that, after multiple flooding incidents, has since been converted into a park. I was surprised by the amount of activity I saw there over the year.

In the spring, I started by observing and photographing a pair of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), which I assumed had nested nearby.

Around the same time, I found a cluster of Forget-Me-Nots. After a bit of work, I came away with this shot.

I was even able to capture some of the spring warbler migration as it made its way through Halton Hills, including this Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata).

And of course, there were plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) around, sometimes giving me a staredown.

During the summer, this Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) made a brief appearance on a newly created sandbar due to the low water levels Ontario experienced in 2025 from the summer heat.

This American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) didn’t seem to mind the heat, as it basked in the evening’s glow amongst the duckweed.

Lastly, as this photo essay comes to an end, this Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia) landed near me in September. It thankfully stayed in position long enough for me to grab my camera and spin back around to photograph it.

These photographs were all taken during a few short visits to this Norval park. I hope these photographs help show what I have come to understand: moments of nature and beauty are waiting everywhere we decide to notice them.

Editor's note: This article is a personal essay or reflection. It contains editorial perspective and opinion, and readers should distinguish it as such, separate from our factual and investigative reporting.

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This article was originally published by Natasha Bulowski, a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with Canada’s National Observer.

A Mississauga man’s legal victory over the city’s lawn bylaws sets an important precedent for Canadians looking to replace their grass lawns with pollinator and habitat gardens.

On Jan. 6, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the City of Mississauga’s nuisance weed and tall grass bylaws violated resident Wolf Ruck’s Charter right to freely express himself in the form of a naturalized garden. The bylaws prohibited grass higher than 20 centimetres and restrictions on growing some nuisance weeds, including sow thistle. The bylaw applied to Ruck’s property but have now been ruled unconstitutional.

This “is an excellent precedent” that “can be carried across Canada,” Ontario-based environmental lawyer David Donnelly told Canada’s National Observer in a phone interview.

“It’s a very significant step forward because the decision is so clear and unequivocal.”

Also, the fact that Ruck won even though he represented himself in court gives “a pretty clear indication of how bright the line is with respect to the constitutional protection,” Donnelly said.

“If a layman can go into court and win on this point then it’s probably pretty clear what the law is.”

City staff are still reviewing the decision and considering next steps, according to an emailed statement from the City of Mississauga.

Ruck, who is retired, fought his own case because he couldn’t afford a lawyer, and is relieved at the ruling.

“When I look out at my yard at sunset … It’s just beautiful. It’s like a park,” Ruck said in a phone interview with Canada’s National Observer. “All of these plants that are resident on my property, they’re also resident in the local parks here.”

Ruck doesn’t “grow” a garden in the traditional sense, he lets nature take its course. When bird droppings and the wind carry new seeds into his yard, he lets them take root, occasionally supplementing with local seeds plucked from nearby trails, like woodland sunflowers. Goldenrod, sow thistle, black-eyed susan, columbine and sedges proliferated naturally and he carefully mows the turf lawn around these plants, taking care not to cut them down.

Many people opt for a natural lawn because it’s a way for an individual to help tackle biodiversity decline and climate change, Ruck said. But city bylaws can land people in hot water and most people don’t have the time or money to take it to court, he added.

He and other natural garden advocates hope this ruling will serve as a warning to municipalities across the country.

Ruck is not the only Canadian to take legal action to protect a naturalized lawn.

Donnelly is currently co-representing Burlington resident Karen Barnes who, like Ruck, has had her property destroyed by the city for growing a natural garden. Barnes is currently in Provincial Offences Court challenging the $400,000 in fines levelled by the city for violating a bylaw order to cut down her lawn.

“I would hope that Burlington would have the good sense to read this decision and then withdraw the charges against Miss Barnes,” he said.

A study of a municipal project in Vancouver showed that simple changes to maintenance, such as letting the grass grow, can boost biodiversity and bring more wildlife into urban spaces. Beyond giving pollinators a much-needed hand, habitat gardens and natural lawns have myriad benefits.

Climate change — driven largely by humans burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas — is leading to more intense heat waves and gardens, trees and greenery have a cooling effect that helps keep temperatures down, particularly in cities. Fossil fuel use also increases the frequency of extreme weather, including rainfall, and local plants have deeper roots than turf grass that help absorb excess stormwater and reduce soil erosion.

Compared to a traditional turf grass lawn, these natural gardens require far less water, sequester more carbon and are easier to maintain.

“Habitat gardens’‘ are designed to attract wildlife and pollinators (like bees and butterflies) and are cared for differently than a standard lawn and garden.

Instead of raking fallen leaves, you might leave them to decompose over the winter as part of the natural cycle. It’s the same with old plant stems or other plant material, such as logs. But sometimes neighbours object to the perceived “messiness” of decomposing plants on a lawn — and many municipalities have bylaws that discourage these practices with measures including height restrictions.

Natural lawn advocate and author Lorraine Johnson says this court ruling doesn’t mean people will have free reign to let their yards run totally wild; most municipalities have bylaws that prohibit certain noxious plants, like poison ivy, and have important safety provisions to keep yards in check, for example, ensuring access to fire hydrants and preserving sightlines so pedestrians are visible to cars.

“What might look wild to someone isn’t necessarily an abandoned and neglected yard,” Johnson said. “The aesthetics of naturalisation are perhaps not conventional aesthetics.”

Municipalities can write bylaws in a way that would allow people the freedom to have a naturalized garden while still maintaining health and safety standards, she said. For instance, the City of Kingston changed its bylaws last year to remove aesthetic terms and create a list of prohibited plants, so enforcement officers have clear instructions to follow. Every municipality is slightly different: the City of Vancouver doesn’t restrict grass height and uses vague language to require yards be kept to the “prevailing standard of the neighbourhood.”

The neighbouring City of Surrey, on the other hand, imposes a 20 centimeter grass limit and requires the removal of dead, diseased, dying or dangerous portions of trees or plants.

“Subjective aesthetic terms like ‘untidy’ should be weeded out of bylaws,” Johnson said. “They’re completely arbitrary.”

The Ruck court ruling adds to a handful of other legal victories for natural lawns. In 2002, Douglas Counter took the City of Toronto to court and won after it removed plants from his natural garden, which extended onto city land. Earlier, in Bell v. City of Toronto in 1996, Sandy Bell successfully invoked her Charter right of freedom of expression to save her natural garden.

“In the Sandy Bell case, the Judge ruled that vague, subjective and arbitrary terms like ‘excessive’ were ‘void for vagueness’ and ‘unenforceable,’” Johnson added.

— With files from Matin Sarfraz

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This article was originally published by Christian Collington, a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with TheIFP.ca

While many residents might prefer to stay indoors during the colder months, the Halton Hills chapter of the Toronto Bruce Trail Club sees its largest turnout during winter.

Angelika Sommer, the club’s chair and a hike leader, said she’s “always surprised” to see more hikers in winter than in summer.

“We’ve got like 15 people instead of the normal five or 10,” she said. “People just love it.”

Founded 25 years ago, the Halton Hills chapter serves as an affiliate of the Toronto Bruce Trail Club and hosts hikes every Sunday morning and some Wednesdays, rain or shine.

Sommer said the reason for this seasonal surge is that the winter landscape offers a reprieve from the heat and insects that can make summer treks a challenge.

“It’s too hot for some people,” she explained. “You have the mosquitoes and black flies and so on.”

While walking through snow or ice is more strenuous, Sommer said the snow also levels out the trail’s rocky sections by filling in crevices, sometimes making the path easier to navigate than in the summer.

Sommer emphasized that safety remains the top priority for the club as hikes are only cancelled in extreme conditions, such as freezing rain or thunderstorms.

To enjoy the trails safely, whether with the club or independently, Sommer recommends the following gear and preparation:

• Specialized footwear: Boots should be warm and water-repellent, especially in slushy conditions.

• Traction aids: “Icers,” such as ice cleats or studs, are essential to avoid slipping during freeze-and-thaw cycles. These range from small grips to heavy-duty steel triangles that are attached to the bottom of boots.

• Layering: Hikers should dress in layers to manage body temperature as exertion increases.

• Warm refreshments: While water is a summer staple, carrying hot tea or other warm drinks makes winter outings more pleasant.

While the larger Toronto club handles trail maintenance and landowner relations, the local chapter helps when needed and focuses on the social and active side of the trail.

The group occasionally hosts potlucks and special hikes, such as a New Year’s Day hike.

Sommer said the group remains open to anyone who wants to join.

“Come out and try — we always accept new hikers,” she said. “We have people from Burlington, Mississauga, Halton Hills, so we accept anyone who would like to come along.”

For those who find they aren’t suited for hiking, Sommer said the club also connects individuals with the Toronto club to be involved with trail maintenance or serving as land stewards.

More information about the trail club can be found on their website or by emailing HHC@torontobrucetrailclub.org.

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In her 2025 annual report on the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR), Ontario’s Auditor General, Shelley Spence, found that the Ford government failed to disclose Greenbelt and environmental risks when it exempted Highway 413 from public consultations.

Spence stated that, “A 2021 Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Report raised concerns about how Highway 413 could affect species at risk, wildlife corridors and rivers.” Previous Ministry of Transportation studies also identified that the proposed Highway 413 route would pass through the Greenbelt and other significant environmental features and would impact species at risk.

Despite this, when the Ford government sought public feedback on exempting the project from the EBR via Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 and the Highway 413 Act, the Auditor General found that “The Environment Ministry did not describe these impacts in the proposal notice and did not provide any information about whether these impacts would be assessed through the new process, or how significant impacts would be mitigated.”

The EBR is provincial legislation that ensures Ontarians have a say in significant environmental changes made by the government, requires that notices of changes and their impacts be posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) for prescribed ministries, and provides an opportunity to appeal certain decisions.

The Field & Shutter Press contacted the Ministry of the Environment and Transportation for a response to the Auditor General’s findings, but did not receive a response by publication. The article will be updated if a response is provided.

Environmental Risks of Highway 413

The proposed route for Highway 413 will cut through three major watersheds: the Humber River, Etobicoke Creek, and Credit River, which threatens to cause the local extinction (extirpation) of species like the Redside dace, an endangered species both provincially and federally.

The Ontario government’s webpage on the Redside dace explains the impacts of development on the species, stating that, “Development can alter stream flow and shape, cause excessive amounts of sediment to enter the water, result in the removal of streamside vegetation which the species needs for cover and food, and to moderate water temperature.”

Tony Morris, Ontario Nature’s Director of Conservation Policy and Campaigns, said that if Ontario continues to lose its biodiversity, it will make the province more susceptible to the effects of climate change, likening species loss to a Jenga tower. “Keep removing them. Eventually, that tower will collapse.”

Earlier this year, the federal government announced it had issued a Habitat Protection Order under the federal Species at Risk Act regarding the Redside dace. Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager & Counsel at Environmental Defence, explained in a press release that the order “prohibits anyone from doing anything that would destroy any of the habitat value of the mapped rivers, creeks and tributaries that Redside dace depends on.”

The Humber River and its tributaries have been identified as critical habitat for the Redside dace, with Pothen also stating in the release, “it’s now clearly illegal to build the parts of Highway 413 that cross them.”

However, Pothen also warns that these protections are not absolute. The federal government could still allow the extirpation of the Redside dace by issuing permits “to destroy the habitat” or by “intentionally failing to enforce the law,” instead, allowing harmful activities such as sprawling development to take place.

It would also cut through Ontario’s Greenbelt, a region the government’s website says “protects farmland, communities, forests, wetlands and watersheds.” Environmental Defence reports that more than 400 acres of the Greenbelt, including prime farmland, would be lost to the highway.

In 2022, the Ford government sought to open portions of Ontario’s Greenbelt to housing development through a process that several independent watchdog reports later found to be flawed and to favour certain developers. The resulting controversy led to the reversal of the decision, the resignation of a cabinet minister and other staff, widespread political backlash, and the launch of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) criminal investigation that remains ongoing more than two years later.

The Auditor General also found in her 2025 report that “over one-fifth” of the proposals posted on the ERO lacked information on the expected environmental impacts.

Highway 413 Act Exempts Project from Environmental Bill of Rights

The Highway 413 Act exempted the highway project from the EBR, meaning that the usual rights granted under the EBR no longer apply to the Highway 413 project.

Mike Marcolongo, an Associate Director at Environmental Defence Canada, said the exemption undermines public participation, “This government doesn’t really care about public input, unfortunately, and is removing all appeal tools.”

The Auditor General did note in her report that the Highway 413 Act includes requirements for public consultations under the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the project, but stated it “does not give Ontarians the same rights that they have under the EBR.”

The Auditor General also highlighted in her 2025 report that “the Province has been taking actions that had rarely or never been taken,” since the EBR was enacted in 1994. With Tony Morris saying, “There’s always been implementation and performance issues, but the actions of this government are unprecedented and fundamentally undermine the intent of the EBR.”

Draft Environmental Impact Report Published

A draft of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Highway 413 was recently made available, with a section of the project website reading: “The Highway 413 draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) is now available for comment from December 1, 2025, until January 6, 2026.”

Mike Marcolongo said the report is approximately 1,700 pages long and that the Ontario government is giving the public and First Nations “roughly a month to review the documentation over the holiday period.”

That approximation includes the draft and its related appendices.

The Auditor General noted in her report, “The public has an interest in participating in decision-making about Highway 413 that may affect the environment, including any instruments needed to carry out the project.”

Government’s Rationale

The Highway 413 project website states, “The province is committed to maintaining strong environmental oversight of Highway 413 to minimize impacts on natural terrain.” The province is also “taking steps to expand the Greenbelt to protect environmental, groundwater and agricultural resources for future generations,” according to the website, despite removing it from the public consultation process under the EBR.

The Ford government has maintained that building Highway 413 is necessary to reduce gridlock and get drivers to their destinations faster.

“Highway 413 will help meet the needs of our growing province as a prosperity corridor that will create thousands of good-paying union jobs during the construction phase and make life easier and more convenient for millions of drivers in the GTA and across Ontario. We’re getting it done,” said Premier Doug Ford in a press release announcing the project in April 2024.

In a recent release surrounding Highway 413, Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria said, “Building Highway 413 will help protect Ontario against U.S. tariffs and global economic uncertainty by improving the movement of people and goods and keeping more than 6,000 workers on the job during construction.”

However, Mike Marcolongo said in a statement that a recent report authored by Environmental Defence and Transport Action Ontario, which uses Highway 413 as a case study, “demonstrates that putting $14 billion (the estimated cost of this highway) toward public transit investment instead of the highway would move more than double the number of commuters per hour.”

The Ford government has not publicly released a total cost estimation for Highway 413.

Opposition Raises Concerns in Legislature

In the Ontario Legislature during question period on December 3, MPP Peter Tabuns, the NDP Environment Critic, said to the Premier, “The Auditor General made it clear in her report yesterday that the government doesn’t follow or respect the law regarding environmental consultation, the Environmental Bill of Rights.” He then asked, “Why doesn’t the government respect the law or the environment?”

The Premier did not respond. Instead, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Hon. Todd McCarthy, replied, quoting a portion of the Auditor General’s finding that the public had been informed and able to participate, and adding “our ministry and our government, through dedicated outreach, focused consultation sessions and specialized working groups, consults and listens and acts in accordance with the will of the people.”

Environment Critic, and Liberal MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon, said in an emailed statement to The Field & Shutter Press that the Ford government is wasting the public’s time.

“Time is a resource, and this government unabashedly steals people’s time when they invite them to submit well-researched, and passionate comments under the ERO just to ignore their input, or not give them enough information to understand what they are reviewing in the first place, if they even ask for it at all,” MPP McMahon wrote.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on January 7, 2026, to include a watershed impact map detailing the proposed Highway 413 route and its intersection with Redside dace habitat. The map was added after initial publication following the receipt of formal permission for its use. The reporting remains unchanged.

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DECEMBER IN REVIEW

Howdy everyone,

I want to start by wishing everyone a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

You may have noticed this month’s newsletter is going out a little early, on the 30th rather than the 31st. That’s just so this issue isn't lost in the holiday and New Year shuffle.

This month also marks the 12th consecutive month I’ve been publishing this newsletter, from its early beginnings as mostly photography-based to its current mix of content.

As we head into 2026, nearly 200 of you are subscribed to this newsletter. I want to thank everyone who has subscribed, read an article, shared, commented, or liked anything over the past year. Your support is greatly appreciated.

I’d also like to give a shout-out this month to the little-known person behind the scenes who helps make both the newsletter and the articles you see happen, to Hayley, our Editor and my partner. She helps keep my work honest and factual, and without her, much of this wouldn't be possible.

Why Things Have Looked a Little Different Lately

Many of you initially subscribed to this newsletter when it was more photography-based with a sprinkling of news coverage. You’ve likely noticed over the past few months a shift toward more news content, and I wanted to explain why that’s happened in this month’s Field Note.

If you’re here mainly for the nature photography, rest assured that more photo-based content is in the works.

At Queen’s Park: Audits, Bills, and a Long Recess

Over at Queen’s Park, the Ontario Legislature began its winter break this month and will not be returning until March 23. Before the break, the Auditor General, Shelley Spence, released her annual audit on the Environmental Bill of Rights. To help break down some of the significant findings, check out our article from this month, “Ford Government Eroding Ontarians’ EBR Rights,” says Ontario Auditor General.”

The Field & Shutter Press continues to review the Auditor General's findings, and additional reporting on the matter will be published in the new year.

The Ford Government also passed an omnibus bill before the break, Bill 46, the Protect Ontario by Cutting Red Tape Act, 2025, which, among its amendments, includes changes to the Crown Forest Sustainability Act & Liquor Licence and Control Act. This is detailed in this month’s article, “Ford Government passes Bill 46: forest protections cut, alcohol allowed in Ontario Parks.”

Halton Hills Town Council

As the Ford Government seeks to merge 36 Conservation Authorities across the province into 7, facing widespread opposition, the Town of Halton Hills narrowly voted against a motion asking the government to consider other options in a vote of 6-5, as reported by HaltonHillsToday.ca.

Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), one of the Conservation Authorities whose watershed overlaps with Halton Hills, has indicated in its submission to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) that it does not support the Ford government's current plans, stating, “While consolidation may improve equity and service delivery in some regions, the proposed boundaries introduce significant governance, financial, operational, and service-delivery risks for highcapacity conservation authorities like CVC that are effectively supporting safe, sustainable growth.”

Per the posting regarding the proposal on the ERO, “The current system of 36 separate conservation authorities is fragmented, with each conservation authority following different policies, standards, fees and levels of staffing and technical capabilities.”

If the proposal proceeds, CVC, along with Conservation Halton, which also covers Halton Hills, would merge with other nearby Conservation Authorities to become the Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority.

Until the next one,

-Greg

THE FIELD & SHUTTER PRESS

FEATURES & INVESTIGATIONS

CONSERVATION & WILDLIFE NEWS

FIELD NOTES & PERSPECTIVES

IN OTHER NEWS

In the "In Other News" section, we’ll share interesting updates and discoveries from the past month. Expect highlights on photography, nature, wildlife, conservation, and environmental topics.

An irruption of Snowy Owls?

Published on: 07/DEC/2025
Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers in Ontario, such as The Owl Foundation, have reported more Snowy Owls entering their care than at this time compared to last year. Could this year be an irruption? Click here to read more

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This article was originally published by Matt Prokopchuk, a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with TBnewswatch.com.

Eleven First Nations from across Treaty 9 territory are back in court this week as the lawyer leading their case says the province is trying to “snuff out” ongoing litigation over far north resource development.

Lawyers representing the communities and Ontario were scheduled to be in a Toronto courtroom Thursday and Friday over legal action filed in 2023 by the First Nations. The communities which filed the initial suit are challenging what they’re saying is “unilateral decision-making” by Ontario and Canada over development in the Ring of Fire.

Earlier in December, Wunnumin Lake joined the case. Its chief, Archie Wabasse, told a news conference held prior to Thursday’s court hearing, that his community was prompted to join over concerns about their future.

“If the government is really taking up the lands and resources, it’s going to have an impact on us,” he said. “We’re going to be impacted because we won’t be able to practice and exercise our inherent right to hunt and trap and gather from the lands.”

“And also, the lands will also be affected.”

The 10 other communities involved are Attawapiskat, the Apitipi Anicinapek Nation, Aroland, Constance Lake, Eabametoong, Fort Albany, Ginoogaming, Kashechewan, Kichenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug and Neskantaga.

In the initial filing, the First Nations said their aim was to “enshrine a dual decision-making regime into law,” and that their argument revolves around a dispute over the interpretation of Treaty 9.

“We’re going to court today, where Ontario — before any evidence has been led in our case about First Nations right for jurisdiction over the land, co-jurisdiction with the Crown, equal decision-making authority with the Crown — Ontario is trying to take that case away,” Kate Kempton, senior counsel at Woodward & Company LLP, said at the Thursday morning press conference.

“Essentially saying ‘colonialism happened, you’re pooched, it’s too late.”

As reported by The Trillium, the province filed a motion to dismiss the action on the basis that Treaty 9 doesn’t impact Crown sovereignty over those lands, and without jurisdiction “there’s no ‘reasonable cause of action’ for the First Nation legal claim.”

Wabasse, in Wunnumin Lake, echoed the argument that elders and Indigenous leaders who signed on to Treaty 9 weren’t aware of the full extent of what they were signing, and that the agreement was effectively “imposed” on them.

“We’re trying to convince the Crown this is not the way our elders understood the treaty,” he said. “Because our elders, our ancestors, couldn’t read the document.”

“And they call it negotiation.”

Since the suit was first filed in 2023, Ontario and Canada have each passed legislation (formerly known as Bill 5 and Bill C-5), which opponents — including First Nations and environmental groups — say trample on Indigenous and treaty rights.

Both levels of government have repeatedly said the laws aren’t about taking away those rights and that the duty to consult with First Nations remains.

On Thursday, the provincial and federal governments also announced they signed an agreement that enshrines a new “one project, one process, one decision’ environmental assessment model.

In a media release, the Ontario government said it will “remove duplicative and overlapping federal impact assessments from Ontario’s world-leading environmental assessment process to build infrastructure faster and unlock resource development across the province.”

Ontario has also announced criteria to designate “special economic zones” (a significant part of the former Bill 5, now called the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act) will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

“We’ve never surrendered the land, we’ve never surrendered our jurisdiction,” Wabasse said.

“That’s the argument that we need to resolve between the Crown — Canada and Ontario.”

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This article was originally published by Sonal Gupta, a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with Canada’s National Observer.

Ramon Kataquapit says it was the silence from his First Nation leaders after Ontario introduced legislation to fast-track land development, that ultimately rallied other young people in his community to take charge of their future.

From Attawapiskat First Nation, Kataquapit, 23, said others in Treaty 9 also felt frustrated and excluded from decisions impacting them after the province introduced Bill 5. And “that caused a lot of the youth all at the same time almost to spark into action,” he said.

This week, Kataquapit is taking their fight into court.

In a motion filed Monday, he and Michel Koostachin, who is also a member of Attawapiskat First Nation, seek to intervene in an existing lawsuit launched by nine First Nations shortly after Bill 5 passed.

While nine First Nations are already challenging the legislation on the grounds it violates treaty rights and removes environmental protections across Treaty 9, Koostachin said the case must also include the lived experiences of grassroots people: youth, elders, knowledge keepers and community members who are most vulnerable to the changes Ontario is trying to introduce.

Treaty 9 covers much of northern Ontario, stretching from the boreal forests along the Hudson and James Bay coasts to the mineral-rich interior known as the Ring of Fire.

Kataquapit and Koostachin are asking to participate as friends of the court, where they could share legal arguments but wouldn’t be allowed to bring new evidence. The motion states they plan to address three key points: how reconciliation connects with Indigenous legal traditions and treaty obligations, how international standards, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, should shape provincial decisions and whether Bill 5 creates discriminatory effects by exposing some communities to greater environmental harm.

Koostachin describes a long and growing disconnect between elected chief-and-council structures and the community members who continue to live by what he calls Indigenous natural law — a system of responsibilities and teachings that predates the Indian Act. He said elected leadership “follow the Indian Act,” which changes every election cycle, while community members must live with the long-term consequences of industrial development.

He said the legal fight cannot be understood without acknowledging those who rely on river systems, peatlands and wildlife for food, ceremony and teachings. The vast northern peatlands — waterlogged and mossy wetlands that store enormous amounts of carbon — stretch across the Hudson and James Bay lowlands, forming one of the largest intact ecosystems of their kind on Earth. “We’re the ones that travel our waterways,” he said. “We have ceremonial sites. We have burial sites that we have to respect.”

He pointed to ongoing social pressures, including housing shortages, addiction crises and limited services for youth and families. Rapid development, such as the proposed mining linked to the Ring of Fire, could intensify those strains.

Even though the proponents of development promise jobs and prosperity, past projects have offered little long-term benefit to their communities, he said. He pointed to the De Beers-owned Victor diamond mine as an example: “We went to sweep the floors… we didn’t manage what was up.”

A larger movement is happening across the region where many other First Nations members oppose the bill and demand a voice in decisions affecting their homelands.

In his community, Kataquapit helped create a youth-led movement called Okiniwak to bring young people into political conversations. It gave them a direct platform, Kataquapit said, “without having to go through any organization, any chief, anything that might be able to get misconstrued.” The group took the movement “all over Ontario,” hosting workshops, rallies and lectures to raise awareness and mobilize communities.

Kerrie Blaise drafted the motion and said this intervention is supported by a coalition of allies and nonprofits, including Ontario Nature, to overcome financial and legal barriers that typically prevent such participation.

“It takes an all-hands-on-deck approach to make sure that you have the funding, the resources, the capacity to do this work. No one is profiting from this, this is grassroots advocacy at its core,” Blaise, who is founder of Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence and an environmental and Indigenous rights lawyer, told Canada’s National Observer.

Too often, the burden of opposing extractive development has fallen disproportionately on First Nations, who face limited resources within a system that already restricts their ability to make decisions, said Shane Moffatt, campaigns and advocacy manager for Ontario Nature.

Moffatt said environmental groups nationally must step up as allies without dictating outcomes to Indigenous communities. “At the end of the day, it’s really important that Indigenous Peoples are able to make the best decisions, and they have the right to make the best decisions for their communities in the context of a colonial system, which imposes significant limitations and restrictions and inequities on those communities,” he said.

The impacts of accelerated development will first affect territories where communities rely on healthy waterways and peatlands. Disrupting them, Kataquapit warned, could release sequestered carbon and further damage already stressed river systems. Residents along James Bay, he added, “know the facts of having pollution within waters,” pointing to long-standing concerns that followed the Victor mine.

Kataquapit is one of the first in his family not to attend residential or day schools, yet the legacy of those institutions continues to shape his daily life. Reconnecting with the land, he said, has informed his view that decisions about Treaty 9 must look beyond short-term development and consider the future of the territory and the people who rely on it.

He said the costs of Bill 5 will fall on northern youth, not policymakers. “We will be the ones that have to deal with the consequences.”

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The Ford Government passed an omnibus bill, the Protect Ontario by Cutting Red Tape Act, 2025 (Bill 46), on Dec. 11, in a vote of 88 in favour to 12 against, allowing forest resources to be removed for non-forestry uses without standard permitting, while also permitting alcohol in designated areas of provincial parks.

Bill 46 amended the Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA), which now permits the removal of forest resources for non-forestry purposes, such as mining, roads, and utility corridors, through what the Ford Government describes as a streamlined regulatory process. Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Ontario Green Party, said the alcohol policy was intended to bury the environmental change.

“The Ford government is once again using alcohol to distract from truly harmful legislation.” Adding that “Bill 46 is yet another omnibus bill that this government is forcing through the Legislature as quickly as possible, while bypassing debate and public consultation,” Schreiner said.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) did not respond by the time of publication. Should the ministry respond, the Field & Shutter Press will update the article.

According to the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994, its purpose is “to manage Crown forests to meet social, economic and environmental needs of present and future generations.”

The Ontario Regional Director of Unifor, Samia Hashi, explained in a Nov. 28 letter to the Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, “Bill 46 would amend the CFSA to allow the removal of forest resources (e.g., trees) for non-forestry purposes (e.g., roads, mining, utility corridors) under a streamlined regulatory process.”

The bill also includes unrelated changes to alcohol consumption rules in provincial parks, which will allow park superintendents, who oversee park management and operations, to designate specific areas for alcohol consumption.

The public areas must be identified by “a sign posted in the park that sets out the public area and states that liquor may be consumed in a socially responsible manner while in it,” according to the legislation. An FAQ answer on the Ontario Parks website currently states, “alcohol is permitted within provincial parks and must remain on your designated campsite.”

Mike Marcolongo, Associate Director at Environmental Defence, said when he first learned of the proposal, “So you start with the designating [of] public areas, is the next step to privatize those public areas into bars and clubs?” adding, “Where are we going with this is my question.”

When Bill 46 was first announced, the Ford Government explained that the change for alcohol was to support tourism and “would improve visitor experiences in parks by expanding opportunities for socially responsible consumption of alcohol,” according to a press release.

Within Ontario’s Provincial Parks, alcohol enforcement is handled through a joint effort by Park Wardens and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Park Wardens have the authority of a Provincial Police Constable within a Provincial Park.

“The OPP does respond to calls for service in provincial parks and supports park wardens and staff when police response is warranted,” said Gosia Puzio, an OPP spokesperson.

However, the Ford Government press release makes no mention of changes to the CFSA and instead references other changes, such as allowing alcohol in parks.

​​During the third reading of the bill on Dec. 10 in the Ontario Legislature, the Hon. Andrea Khanjin, Minister of Red Tape, spoke about Bill 46, saying, “Whether it’s our manufacturing sector, our forestry sector, whether it’s our health care, every step of the way. The Premier has been there to make those investments and back those individuals who work in those industries.”

“Bill 46 is bad for the environment and bad for democracy,” said MPP Mike Schreiner

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