Dear Premier Ford and…

Dear Premier Ford and Cabinet,

I have often disagreed with your government’s perspective and approach to the the environment, but Bill 5 is a new level of disrespect and depravity. It is an assault not only on nature and biodiversity, but on our very democracy.

While the Endangered Species Act, 2007, has some serious flaws, these could be addressed in ways that do not completely undermine the Act’s purpose. Instead, Bill 5 proposes to finally kill it entirely and replace it with something that strips endangered species protection of all effectiveness and relevance. For example, neutering COSSARO by allowing your government to unilaterally decide when a species should be considered endangered regardless of an independent scientific assessment, and removing the government’s responsibility to create and implement recovery strategies and report back to Ontarian’s on progress. Why? To help rush developers make more money, faster? I have seen zero evidence that these changes will help solve our housing crisis, but plenty that your government’s wealthy donors will reap major rewards. This is unacceptable.

Perhaps even more alarming is the ‘Special Economic Zones’ piece of the Bill. Exempting entire ‘zones’ from all laws? This is not democracy. Not to mention the utter disrespect for Indigenous rights and responsibilities to the Land. It is long past time for reconciliation, it is your responsibility to lead Ontarians in this important work, not set us back another 150 years.

Shame on you. Shame on you all for taking advantage of the current turbulence in our relationship with the United States to make excuses for such self-serving purposes. Repeal Bill 5, and take the opportunity to do the job right for the interests of all Ontarians, not your rich friends.