Big 5 is an assault on our…

Big 5 is an assault on our democratic rights. It exempts major industrial projects from environmental assessment without proper community consultation or due process.
It will erase archaeological and cultural protections, giving the Ontario Cabinet unchecked power to destroy Indigenous and settler heritage.
It will also undermine constitutionally protected Indigenous rights — fast-tracking projects like critical minerals extraction in the Ring of Fire in far northern Ontario without Indigenous consent or legal safeguards.
In Bill 5 the Ontario Cabinet can override any Ontario law, municipal by-law, or public protection through the creation of Special Economic Zones where nothing limits what laws can be ignored or rights suspended.
These Special Economic Zones do not appear to be tied to jobs or trade or even the economy.
Rather they are about handing unchecked power to Cabinet to benefit hand-picked special interests while silencing Ontario residents and sidelining the legislative process.

Bill 5 drastically weakens environmental protection and rescinds the Endangered Species Act.
The government fails to understand that species at risk to not live in isolation but are dependent,
like all living things, upon complex ecosystems. Unregulated development that fails to recognize
the importance of the natural world erodes the health, well-being and ultimately the economy of Ontarians.
Projects for development need to be carefully considered and regulated to ensure long-term sustainable, positive impacts. This probably requires more informed attention than the
government has so far been willing to invest.