It is hard to imagine a more…

It is hard to imagine a more chilling prospect than the idea of being in or near a “Special Economic Zone”, in which any and all laws can be removed at the discretion of government. Due process, scientific expertise, stakeholder consultation, and environmental oversight are not impediments—they serve a necessary purpose, I view Bill 5 as a direct threat to the nature that sustains us, science & evidence-based policy, as well as Indigenous rights & democracy itself.

This time under the pretext of an emergency posed by our trade relationship with the U.S., this government is once again grabbing at undemocratic powers that take decision-making away from experts and stakeholders and into the hands of a Conservative majority managing this province hand-in-glove with business, developers, land speculators and wealthy insiders.

The most egregious example of an authoritarian power grab is the sidelining of the Species Conservation Action Agency and the Species at Risk Program Advisory Committee in order for the government to “have discretion to add species to or remove from the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List”. This is completely unacceptable.

This is not “protecting” Ontario, Bill 5 cannot pass in this form. Leave the ESA intact and cooperate with opposition parties for real solutions.