Re ERO#025-0391. As a…

Re ERO#025-0391. As a resident of Ontario I would like to submit the following comment for consideration please:

I urge the government of Ontario to cancel Bill 5 due to deep concerns about the proposed Special Economic Zones Act (schedule 9 of Bill 5). It infringes on democratic process and democratic principles that the rule of law applies to all and separation of powers among the three branches of government.

I understand we have pressing threats due to the proposed US Tariffs and the substantial need for more housing. Working outside of the law, however, is deeply concerning and this is by no means the kind of crisis that would pass the threshold of acceptable lawlessness. Emergency powers should not be the norm, but the rare exception. We must uphold the rule of law and democratic dialogue.

My concerns about the proposed Special Economic Zones Act, 2025 include:
-It provides overriding powers to the cabinet to create special economic zones for any reason and any location. There is no purpose clause in the Bill.
-There are no procedures before making designations or transparency requirements for applying for designations.
-Once designated a Special Economic Zone, the zone can be exempt from any applicable provincial or municipal law, including regarding health and safety laws, environment laws, labour laws, official plans, municipal by-laws.
- Three important terms are not defined and are left to be defined or modified at any point by Cabinet: “trusted proponents”, “designated projects”, and “special economic zones”.

I also believe and am deeply concerned that many constituents of this province remain unaware and uninformed regarding this proposed Bill and its ramifications due to the exceedingly short period of time allotted between the low profile government announcement and deadline for response. I believe there should at least be an extension provided past the current 30 days to allow time for the public to become aware of what’s being proposed and to prepare a reasonable response. Thirty days is NOT reasonable. One would almost think that the government is hoping to push this through before its citizens can become informed and respond? To date I have only seen one article on CBC regarding this. I did my own research which is why I’ve responded but just under the wire. I strongly urge you, in the name of the democratic process, to extend your response timeframe by at least another 30 days to allow for your citizens to respond.

Thank you.