There are many problems…

There are many problems about Bill 5 leaving virtually no protections for Ontario's Endangered species.

Bill 5 repeals Ontario’s Endangered Species Act (2007) and thereby takes away important protections and safeguards. For example, it would threaten animals by eliminating their required natural habitat and surroundings, denying them a lack of natural territory for survival. Imagine a fox who comes out of his den to discover a construction site and the loss of his territory. Many animals will face similar insurmountable losses.

The bill will threaten the long-term natural environment of Ontario and of local communities such as our beautiful Caledon. This will be especially destructive in Caledon as our population and infrastructure grow rapidly by 2030 and beyond. The town’s Official plan that protects these plants and animals will not be enforceable leaving many unprotected plants and animals- it will be devastating.

Phil Pothen, the Environmental Defence Ontario Program Manager characterizes the threat of Bill 5 as follows:
“Bill 5 would repeal Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, marking the end of most meaningful provincial protections for endangered, threatened and special concern species in Ontario. The idea that this wholesale slaughter of endangered plants and animals might help ‘protect Ontario’ or ‘unleash’ the economy is farcical.”

The bill takes away Indigenous involvement by ending archeological assessments that consider Indigenous and other cultural values.

It establishes special economic zones (SEZ) where provincial and municipal laws do not apply.
Laura Bowman from Ecojustice Canada speaking about Bill 5 to CBC News April 22 says*
“The bill is about "scapegoating of environmental protection" in the name of economic progress. She said the bill would allow the province to issue a developer's permit even if a project will cause severe decline to a species or result in the extinction of a species. "This won't speed up projects. It will be catastrophic for wildlife," Bowman said. "What we're headed toward, if this bill goes ahead, is really just abandoning species protection."

In the Pointer* (April 28, 2025), Margaret Prophet, from the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition, described the “special zones” as areas where clean water protections, endangered species, local bylaws- even indigenous treaty rights – “could simply vanish.”

Bill 5 needs to be rejected and the province needs to go back to the original Endangered species protections.

*Sources: Environmental Defence Web Site, CBC News Web Site, The Pointer (April 28, 2025)