I am writing to strongly…

I am writing to strongly oppose Bill 5.

The proposed exemptions from the Environmental Bill of Rights would strip Ontarians of their right to be informed about or comment on development projects including Ontario Place lake in-filling, mining projects in the ring of fire, HWY 413 through the greenbelt, and countless others across the province.

This proposal is part of a disturbing trend: the weakening of environmental protections across the province. It includes attempts to redefine "habitat" in ways that shield developers from accountability, the rollback of the Endangered Species Act, broader erosion of safeguards meant to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and removing Indigenous consultation when extracting resources from their land. This is absolutely unacceptable.

These changes serve private interests at the expense of public rights and environmental stewardship, at a time when Ontario—like the rest of the world—is facing urgent climate and biodiversity crises. Silencing community input and dismantling environmental protections is not in the public interest.

Bill 5 also disregards the voices of the public and Indigenous communities—groups that not only have a right to be consulted but whose knowledge and perspectives are essential. It gives the provincial government sweeping powers to ignore existing laws and push forward projects that threaten our most precious landscapes—whether it’s mining in ecologically sensitive regions, building highways through the Greenbelt, paving over farmland and wetlands, or filling in parts of Lake Ontario for private development.
Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights was created to ensure that we care for our natural world and leave something meaningful for the generations that come after us. We cannot throw that away just because it’s politically expedient.

This bill is not only undemocratic—it’s reckless. If it passes, it will do lasting harm to Indigenous rights, to the public’s trust, and to the many species that call this province home.