I am a senior citizen, born…

I am a senior citizen, born and raised in Ontario. I am appalled by, and completely oppose, the widespread and unprecedented powers that Schedule 9 in Bill 5 (Special Economic Zones) awards to the Ontario government. Schedule 9 provisions enable the premier and cabinet to hand out exemptions to any provincial or municipal law whatsoever to any person or company these choose, to any portion of Ontario they choose and to any initiative or project they choose. This is a clear and outrageous overreach of government power in Ontario deliberately designed to avoid holding important and lasting government decisions to public scrutiny and account and to prevent warranted legal action.

I also oppose the intention of Schedule 9 to use the establishment of special security zones to bypass consultation and engagement with First Nation governments. The exemption from provincial laws and regulations likely represents a breach of constitutionally defined and protected Indigenous rights.