Schedule 9 in Bill 5 would…

Schedule 9 in Bill 5 would allow the Premier and Cabinet to take full control over decisions that are
usually made by the Ontario Legislature. This means they could decide which provincial and municipal laws would apply to “special economic zones”, the geographic extent of the law’s applicability, and even
the specific individuals and companies to which the law applies.

By empowering the Premier to create special economic zones, “trusted proponents” will be given
the authority to undertake projects without regard to provincial municipal laws and bylaws. Schedule 9 provisions enable the premier and cabinet to hand out exemptions to:
● Any person or company they choose, for any purpose whatsoever, regardless of whether
they are actually engaged in any work combating U.S. economic aggression or involved in
any business enterprise at all.
● Any portion of Ontario they choose, including large regions that are home to the largest
concentration of people (e.g. the Greater Golden Horseshoe), or individual residential or
commercial properties (e.g. a car dealership or cottage lot) for any purpose whatsoever.
● Any initiative or project they choose, including those with little to no significance to U.S.
trade barriers.
● Any provincial or municipal law whatsoever (e.g. Planning Act, Environmental Protection Act,
Occupational Health and Safety Act, Highway Traffic Act, and Trespass to Property Act) for
any purpose whatsoever.

What does this mean for Ontarians?
● Schedule 9 is anti-democratic because it delegates the Ontario Legislature’s power to determine what laws govern Ontario to the premier and his chosen cabinet. It also enables them to arbitrarily apply different laws (or no laws) to different people. Rather than setting clear criteria for or limits on designating a geographic area as a special economic zone or an enterprise as a “designate project”, the current language proposes unrestricted discretion over the criteria to that premier and his cabinet.
● The establishment of special economic zones would create a legal mechanism for the Government and the development proponent to bypass consultation and engagement with First Nation governments. The exemption from provincial laws and regulations could represent a breach of constitutionally defined and protected Indigenous rights including the Duty to Consult and the respecting the Honour of the Crown under section 35. As a result, Indigenous critics of the special economic zones have deemed them “Constitution-free Zones.”
● It also represents an abandonment of public participation as legislated under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. While long-established consultation and engagement rights are being upended, this legislation does not propose any replacement or substitutes.

This proposed Act threatens every aspect of Ontario life, because it gives the Premier and Cabinet the power to declare any part of Ontario a "Special Economic Zone" where no rules, Acts, Regulations, Instruments (such as municipal by-laws) or conditions apply to "designated projects".

The Premier or any Cabinet Minister, could declare anything to be a "designated project" -- land set aside by municipalities for affordable housing, heritage conservation districts, Ontario Place -- any place could become a "designated project" where no Act, Regulation or By-law applies. This is not democracy and is unacceptable.