Ontario spends little to fight invasive species, despite economic impact: AG

Ontario's auditor general says the province spends only $4 million annually to fight invasive species, despite the $3.6 billion economic impact they create.

In her report today, Bonnie Lysyk says there were years-long delays in regulating invasive species after risk assessments were completed.

The auditor general also found six of the 30 terrestrial invasive species can be bought at garden centres and retailers throughout the province.

She says the regulated species list has only been updated once in seven years after 12 were added to the list in 2022.

Lysyk says the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry does not track at least 33 invasive species that are currently in Ontario and considered high-risk to neighbouring jurisdictions.

Since the Invasive Species Act became law in 2015, conservation officers who are responsible for enforcing it have laid zero charges, zero warrants and only 11 warnings under the act as of March 31, 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2022.