February 16, 2021
By Nate Smelle
No matter what season it may be, Think Turtle Conservation Initiative’s founder and lead program director Kelly Wallace has her sights set on protecting turtles and the natural environment in Ontario. While during the winter she typically hosts public workshops and presentations to raise awareness of what can be done to reduce the impact of human activities threatening turtle populations, because of the COVID-19 pandemic Wallace has had more time to study provincial legislation, and how it is affecting species at risk.
By means of her investigation, Wallace discovered that since the pandemic took hold last year at this time, the Ford government has been using Minister’s Zoning Orders – a provision under the Ontario’s Planning Act to override protections for Provincially Significant Wetlands, municipal zoning and heritage designated buildings- at an “alarming rate.”