June 23, 2025

We deserve more than a false choice between nature and prosperity: Youth Advisory Council

by Youth Advisory Council (2024-2025 Cohort)

Photo: Nick Linnen

As young people growing up in Canada, we are constantly told we are the leaders of tomorrow. But we are also the stewards of today – and today, we are watching our future being bargained away under the false narrative that economic development must come at the expense of environmental protection.

Similar to Bill 15, which recently passed in British Columbia’s provincial legislature, the Ontario government’s Bill 5, also known as the “Get It Done Act,” includes sweeping changes that will gut long-standing environmental protections, silence community voices, and override science in decision-making. It assumes that conservation and economic growth are at odds, and that, to move forward, we must roll back the safeguards meant to protect endangered species, natural habitats, and public accountability.

We reject this premise.

We know that a healthy environment is the foundation of a healthy economy. Clean air and water, healthy pollinators, and rich biodiversity are not luxuries – they are life-support systems that promote climate stability. Undermining them may deliver short-term economic gains, but the cost will be paid by our generation and those that follow.

What this new law represents is not efficiency – it’s erasure. It erases the voices of Indigenous communities whose legally- and constitutionally-protected rights and knowledge have long protected the land. It erases the science-based oversight that is essential for sound policy grounded in justice. And it erases our voices – young Ontarians who will inherit the consequences of these decisions but are increasingly shut out of the conversation and process.

As members of the Youth Advisory Council for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, we work every day to mobilize youth through education, conservation, and community action. We’ve seen firsthand how our peers are leading the charge on building a truly sustainable future, grounded on the critical understanding that our communities can thrive, not just for now but for generations to come, when we meet the interconnected needs of people, animals, and the environment together.

If we are to truly “get it done,” let it be this: Let us build a province that values economic innovation and ecological responsibility. Let us invest in infrastructure that doesn’t sacrifice wetlands, forests, and species at risk. Let us protect and replenish environmental spaces so future generations can benefit from the plethora of ecosystem services. Let us respect and honour Indigenous Peoples’ constitutional, legal, and treaty rights, which were ignored in the passing of this Bill. Let us embrace policies that reflect long-term thinking – not short-term gain.

We call on our elected officials to reverse course and repeal Bill 5. Not just for the turtles, bees, and bats that will lose their protections – but for all of us who believe Ontario’s future, and the future of our country and our planet, should be shaped by inclusion and science.

You can help, too. Readers in Ontario, you can contact your Member of Provincial Parliament and urge them to reverse course. Readers in British Columbia, you can contact your Member of the Legislative Assembly and urge them to do the same.