I am writing to you to…

I am writing to you to express my opposition to Bill 5, the inaptly named Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act. While I support the intent to facilitate housing and infrastructure growth, this legislation poses a serious threat to Ontario’s natural heritage, including many species that we have already decimated and put at serious risk; our democratic processes; and the rights of Indigenous people.

Bill 5 proposes to wind-down many regulatory bodies and repeal regulations, including the Endangered Species Act—one of the few tools we have to protect at-risk wildlife and the ecosystems they depend on. Instead new legislation would consist of vague wording, purely voluntary activities and commitments by commercial and government bodies, and government control over scientific endeavours. This would include the absolute right of the government to remove a protected species from the at-risk list. This leaves the process open to uninformed and harmful decisions or even corrupt abuse with no redress (and no transparency). This is an entirely unacceptable situation in a democratic society.

Bill 5 is simply blind and thoughtless deregulation that puts short-term industrial gain ahead of long-term ecological and community health. The Bill also allows for the creation of “special economic zones” that would allow cabinet to approve major development projects with no proper environmental assessment, public input, or Indigenous consultation. It would silence community voices, prioritize partisan political decisions over informed scientific decisions, and erase decades of hard-won environmental progress. Yet another breach of the democratic process!

I urge the Ontario government to surprise me by listening to its citizens and withdrawing Bill 5 in its entirety. Instead, they must work with environmental experts, Indigenous leaders, and the public to create an efficient process that strengthens our systems of environmental protection while facilitating sustainable growth.