Endangered Species Act Review

The 2006 Ontario Endangered Species Act was developed using participatory processes that allowed passionate diverse stakeholders to craft government policy. They earned each other’s respect and trust and paved the way for cooperation on other contentious issues. At First: After decades of complaints and conflicts about the old Endangered Species Act, 1971 the new Minister of Natural Resources in Ontario had heard enough of every stakeholder in the province complaining about the Act, regardless of political perspective. Our solution: It was decided to involve the stakeholders in co-­creating a new Endangered Species Act white paper. ICA worked with an expert writing panel and a well-informed high-powered stakeholder group to draft the white paper. The result: Our work with the Endangered Species Act Review in Ontario resulted in the creation of what has been called the “gold standard” in endangered species legislation. The Bill passed three readings without controversy because dissenting voices had been included in the process and influenced the product.