Comment on Bill 5: Protect…

Comment on Bill 5: Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025
Submission to the Ontario Environmental Registry

Bill 5 proposes significant structural changes to Ontario’s legal, environmental, and governance frameworks that raise serious concerns and, in its current form, SHOULD NOT proceed. It concentrates executive power, limits accountability, weakens environmental protections, and removes key oversight mechanisms under the rationale of economic acceleration.

Key Concerns:
1. Legal Accountability and Democratic Oversight
The bill extinguishes causes of action, limits access to judicial review, and provides broad legal immunity to government actors and agencies. This undermines the role of courts in checking executive decisions and removes critical public safeguards.
2. Environmental and Species Protections Reduced
The repeal of the Endangered Species Act and its replacement with a more discretionary framework removes automatic protections for at-risk species. Environmental assessments for high-impact projects are curtailed or exempted, weakening long-standing environmental protections.
3. Diminished Public and Indigenous Participation
The bill removes advisory bodies, weakens requirements for archaeological and heritage assessments, and exempts key projects from environmental transparency processes. This risks reducing civic and Indigenous engagement in land-use and environmental decisions.
4. Concentration of Ministerial Discretion
Ministers are given expanded authority to override municipal bylaws, suspend permitting systems, and designate exemptions with limited procedural checks. This centralization increases the risk of inconsistent or unaccountable decision-making.

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Conclusion:

Bill 5, as currently drafted, prioritizes administrative speed over long-term governance integrity. Its impacts on environmental stewardship, public accountability, and legal recourse require broader consultation and substantive amendment before any further legislative action.

Amendments to Bill 5: Zero Compromise Model for Species Protection + Development Acceleration

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1. Full Restoration of ESA 2007 Protections with Immutable Scientific Autonomy

Mechanism:
• Reinstate the Endangered Species Act, 2007 in full, including automatic species listing, habitat definition, mandatory recovery strategies, and independent enforcement agency.
• COSSARO listing is binding within 30 days—no cabinet discretion.
• Prohibit regulatory exemptions for listed species or critical habitat without peer-reviewed ecological justification and time-bound mitigation commitments.

Why It Works:
• Protects species via time-tested mechanisms.
• Avoids litigation delays by reducing legal ambiguity and politicized exceptions.

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2. Legally Mandated, Tiered Acceleration Framework Based on Verified Ecological Risk

Mechanism:
• Create a 3-tier permitting path, enforced by statute:
• Tier 1: No overlap with at-risk species or habitat. Approval within 45–90 days.
• Tier 2: Minor overlap. Rapid coordinated permitting with required mitigation, capped at 120 days.
• Tier 3: Direct impact on listed species or habitat. Full ESA compliance, restoration plan required, and Indigenous consultation process triggered.
• All tiers administered via a centralized Digital Permit Acceleration Platform (DPAP).

Why It Works:
• Removes bottlenecks for low-risk projects.
• Directs ecological oversight only where needed.
• Legally obliges rapid turnaround time without shortcuts on protection.

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3. Trusted Proponent Prequalification with Revocation Triggers

Mechanism:
• Create a certification system for “Trusted Proponents” with a 5-year renewable term.
• Qualification requires:
• Clean compliance record (5+ years),
• Completed restoration obligations,
• Verified Indigenous engagement protocols.
• Breach of conditions results in automatic revocation and blacklisting for 5 years.

Why It Works:
• Speeds permitting for reliable actors.
• Removes redundant paperwork for every project.
• Builds accountability through revocation and public audit trail.

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4. Hard-Wired Interagency Integration via Statutory Dashboard

Mechanism:
• Legislate mandatory use of a unified inter-ministerial dashboard with:
• Real-time application tracking,
• Shared document repositories,
• Automated statutory deadlines,
• Transparent public reporting (with redacted proprietary data).

Why It Works:
• Eliminates intra-governmental delay.
• Provides legal certainty for developers.
• Enables public and NGO monitoring—supports trust without slowing the process.

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5. Time-Limited SEZ Modifications Without Species Carve-Outs

Mechanism:
• Allow SEZ projects to bypass municipal by-laws or lower-tier zoning only when:
• There is no active conflict with a species-at-risk or designated habitat zone.
• A full environmental review confirms Tier 1 or Tier 2 status.
• Sunset clause: SEZ exemptions expire after 5 years unless renewed through performance review.

Why It Works:
• Avoids local obstructionism for low-risk projects.
• Prevents SEZs from being misused to override species protections.
• Time-bounded authority ensures flexibility without permanence

Respectfully,

Carter S