I am writing to vehemently…

I am writing to vehemently object to Bill 5: the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act and urge the government to withdraw this legislation. It seems like this proposed legislation this is a do-over of the Greenbelt scandal, but on a larger, much more destructive scale and with an even thinner pretext. It is an utter betrayal of the people who live in this province and rely on its natural resources to thrive. It is fiscally unsound and ethically bankrupt.

Bill 5 aims to give the government extreme new powers to ignore laws that protect the environment, public health, and Indigenous rights — without accountability. This is unacceptable and Ontarians deserve better. Successful leaders work within existing parameters to achieve their goals, not by decimating the laws and protections that support our lives in this province.

As written, the Special Economic Zones Act (Schedule 9) would grant unprecedented powers to the Provincial Cabinet and could allow corporations or individuals to avoid any laws and by-laws in entire areas of Ontario. There are no limits, no rules, and no public input--it completely abandons the democratic principles we rely on for a functioning society. This cannot and should not be the goal of any government in Ontario or Canada and I am ashamed of the current government for even proposing such a thing.

There is no language in the Act that would restrict the Premier and Cabinet Ministers’ power to hand immunity to people, projects, lands and circumstances of economic importance at all. It would be an unfettered power to pick and choose who our provincial and municipal laws apply to. Why should any project or company be above the law?

The exemption for the Eagle’s Nest mine (Schedule 3) removes the need for a full environmental assessment — ignoring the serious risks to climate-critical peatlands and Indigenous territory. (This feels like a repeat of the Ontario Place debacle.) These peatlands serve a purpose for life in the region; when they are destroyed, they release carbon that cannot be re-absorbed for hundreds of years, making them an irrecoverable carbon store and worsening climate crises that then cost us dearly to address.

Giving up vital environmental protections won’t solve the trade war, or stimulate economic growth - it will create bigger crises that we won't have the resources to deal with. It is fiscally unsound and very much short-term thinking when we need to be planning and investing for the long-term with projects that will stand the test of time.

Not only that, Bill 5 aims to give the Provincial Cabinet unlimited power and abandon any accountability to its constituents. We elect our leaders to represent our interests, not to shut us out of the decision-making process and ignore our real and well-founded concerns.

I urge you to withdraw Bill 5 immediately.