Bill 5 is harmful to the…

Bill 5 is harmful to the environment, wildlife, and Ontarians. As our population increases, there are better solutions to creating affordable homes, reducing traffic, effective mass transportation, etc. and urban sprawl is not a sustainable solution. We need to focus on meaningful solutions for high density and affordable living/housing.

There are successful real world examples that handle high density life without needing to continuously expand into other territories; cities like Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and New York City. Toronto is the highest density city in the GTA and it is significantly behind in population density to all the other cities listed before.

The bill is a short sighted solution that will lead to long term negative effects for us all. We do not need to keep expanding and developing more land, like the Greenbelt, we have the technology and knowledge to build more sustainable high density cities.

Weakened Protection for Species and Habitat: The narrowing definition of “habitat” leaves critical areas unprotected by focusing on immediate dwellings instead of the broader areas where wildlife naturally interact for their process of life.

Increased Risk of Extinction: Reduced protections, mandatory recovery efforts, and development in sensitive areas by labeling them as “special economic zones” or accelerating the registration process will increase the risk of wildlife extinction in the area.

Reduced Accountability and Oversight: By streamlining the process and utilizing a “registration-first” strategy leads to less responsibility and easier to bypass due diligence.

Political Interference in Species Listing: Letting the government add or remove species from the protected list at their discretion raises political and economic concerns. Science-based considerations will be overridden for Political or economic gain at the expense of species that need protection.

Erosion of Indigenous Rights and Consultation: Bill 5’s “special economic zones” bypasses meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities, their rights, and interests regarding land use and resource development in their territories.

Loss of Biodiversity: the combination of weakened protections, habitat loss, and reduced recovery efforts will result in a further decline in Ontario's biodiversity. We need to maintain a strong biodiversity to keep our ecosystem thriving and healthy to sustain all life, including humans. If we break the chain, the effects will cascade through the entire system and negatively affect us too.

Ignoring Environmental Experts: There are several environmental experts and groups that oppose Bill 5, such as Ecojustice, Environmental Defense, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Ontario Nature, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, Scott Gillingwater, and more. If we do not listen to the experts, we will make misinformed decisions, increase harm, and overlook potential opportunities.

Looking at who does support Bill 5, there is the Ministry of the Environment, who is proposing the bill change, and The Ontario Home Builders Association. Due to the lack of improved population density plans, these homes will be built too far away from critical existing infrastructure, such as hospitals, fire stations, utilities, and transportation. Without the means of connecting cities effectively, it will result in even more urban sprawl and traffic congestion. In reality, this bill is mainly for builders to make money off the destruction of natural habitats and harming our ecosystem under the guise of “unleashing our economy” through housing and transit initiatives.