I am in strong opposition to…

I am in strong opposition to the Special Economic Zones Act. No part of the province of Ontario should be exempt from the laws that apply across the province. The laws we have in place across Ontario have been carefully drafted and, over the years, amended to improve them -- on environmental protections, workplace safety, labour rights and the duty to consult First Nations. No economic development is so critical to Ontario's future that there should be any special permission to ignore the laws of this province. This is particularly a concern regarding economic development in far northern Ontario such as the extraction of critical minerals in the "Ring of Fire" -- for to develop them without free, prior and informed consent of the First Nations who have Treaty lands in that part of Ontario would violate the duty to consult as required by the Canadian Constitution.

As an Ontario resident since 1970, I am appalled that such legislation as the Special Economic Zones Act is being proposed in Bill 5. Bill 5 makes me more than ashamed to be an Ontarian. This bill takes us back over 70 years to the "wild west" of no environmental laws, very little land use planning and no meaningful consultation with and consent granted by the First Nations with Treaty lands in the areas under consideration.

Please withdraw Bill 5 in its entirety.