I am very concerned about…

I am very concerned about this proposal for the following reasons:
Create Special Economic Zones where it is unclear what laws, regulations or instruments will apply. It empowers the government to create Special Economic Zones where any provincial laws and municipal by-laws can be suspended.
Exempt projects from environmental reviews. The environmental assessments of the Dresden landfill and Eagle’s Nest Mine would be unjustifiably terminated, eliminating comprehensive analysis of risks to water, wildlife, and human health.
Erode mining safeguards. It weakens the Mining Act by modifying the purposes of the act and curtailing public consultation.
Weakens species protection. It amends and replaces the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with a narrower Species Conservation Act, which focuses on economic development, undermines habitat definitions, removes automatic listing of species at risk, and weakens governmental powers to protect species.
Special Economic Zones

Bill 5 includes a “Special Economic Zones Act”. It would empower the government to:

Establish “Special Economic Zones” where provincial laws, regulations, instruments, municipal by-laws, and municipal instruments can be suspended to enable “trusted proponents” to develop projects. This raises serious concerns about the rule of law.
Avoid public accountability by seeking to shield government decisions from civil liability.
Removal of Environmental Assessments

Without credible justification, if passed Bill 5 would:

Exempt two significant projects from environmental assessment requirements. This include the Dresden landfill and the Eagle’s Nest Mine, which is located in the Ring of Fire.
Erode core functions of an environmental assessment by removing requirements to review the alleged need for and alternatives to a project.
Erosion of Mining Oversight

Related to the oversight of mining projects, Bill 5 would:

Amend the purposes of the Mining Act to emphasize “protection of Ontario’s economy” without a commitment to preventing harm to public health and the environment.
Expedite the permitting process at the expense of ensuring a thorough and comprehensive review of review mine permit applications.