I have five major concerns…

I have five major concerns with Bill 5:

It will exempt certain projects from the Environmental Assessment Act, eliminating comprehensive analysis focused on human health and safety;

It weakens the mining oversight of the Mining Act and curtails public consultation;

It creates zones where provincial laws and municipal by-laws wouldn’t apply — including rules that provide for democratic participation;

It weakens protections for endangered species, including by narrowing the definition of ‘dwelling’ and allowing cabinet to ignore science-based proposals to list species-at-risk; and

It doesn’t recognize Indigenous rights in the way that it should at a time of reconciliation, including by not acknowledging the Crown’s Duty to Consult and the principle of free, prior and informed consent outlined in the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

We have legal environmental protections for good reason and allowing these to be dismantled is a risk to human, ecosystem, and economic health.

These legal protections safeguard our environment, human health, democratic rights, and Indigenous rights.

Bill 5 must be withdrawn as it does not find the right balance between economic growth and health, sustainability, democratic rights, and Indigenous rights.