I am writing in vehement…

I am writing in vehement opposition of Bill 5. This provincial government has already done so much harm to Ontario's environment — I need only think of the overnight razing of Ontario Place that destroyed the habitats of birds and other wildlife, and sent coyotes into Toronto's Liberty Village, the advancement of the Bradford Bypass and attempts to rip out Toronto's bike lanes and increase car emissions as examples. I'm disgusted that it now threatens to do even more damage, by gutting the rules that protect species at risk and heritage sites, reducing the oversight of mining projects, trampling over Indigenous rights and creating "special economic zones" where even these watered-down rules don't apply to protect the environment, or the public from unwanted megaprojects.

I agree with the provincial government that we need a fulsome response to the U.S. trade war and the threat of a recession. But advancing major projects at the expense of the environment, Indigenous people and local communities is a horrible way to go about it. Not only will you face endless court challenges that slow down, if not halt entirely, the projects you aim to speed up, but the ones that do go through will cause irreparable damage to land, water, animals and, human health, as well as our ability to meet our greenhouse gas reduction targets. The people of Ontario, and more precisely the workers whose incomes have been or could be devastated by the impact of tariffs, deserve so much better than this rights-repressing, dangerous bill. If your government cares about the people like it says it does, it should cease to pursue this legislation.