RE: Opposition to Bill 5 -…

RE: Opposition to Bill 5 - Proposed interim changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and a proposal for the Species Conservation Act, 2025

Members of the Legislative Assembly,

I am writing to express my unequivocal opposition to Bill 5, The Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025. This legislation poses a direct threat to Ontario’s natural environment, our endangered species, and the public’s ability to hold government and industry accountable.

By rewriting the Endangered Species Act to prioritize economic growth over ecological survival, you are putting vulnerable species and habitats at greater risk than ever before. The removal of required recovery strategies, the weakening of definitions like “habitat,” and the erasure of the word “harass” from the language of protections are calculated moves to lower barriers for industry and strip essential safeguards. The discretionary power the Ford government would grant itself to add or remove species from protection lists is not only scientifically irresponsible, it is dangerously undemocratic.

The so-called “registration-first” model allows corporations and developers to bypass oversight, replacing science and accountability with self-reporting and unchecked expansion. Combined with the Ford government’s history of overriding environmental laws to benefit developers, including the failed attempt to carve up the Greenbelt and the reckless Ontario Place redevelopment. It is clear this bill is not about conservation, but consolidation of power and profit.

These actions reflect a disturbing similarity to the political tactics of the US administration(s): deregulation disguised as progress, the erosion of environmental policy under pressure from lobbyists, and the abuse of executive power to favour corporate interests. Ontario is being shaped by a greedy network of individuals who benefit from the silencing of science, the weakening of laws, and the undermining of public trust. To wit, an early preview of Doug Ford's Conservative leadership bid at the federal level.

The timing of this legislation proposal is obvious and egregious; attempting to capitalize on the overwhelming state of local and global affairs dominating our lives and news feeds; post-federal election strife, US tariff / fascism, active genocide(s) and serious economic instability. Ontarians deserve better.

I strongly urge the withdrawal of Bill 5. It represents nothing more than another blatant example of failed leadership.