Comment on Bill 5 (ERO #013…

Comment on Bill 5 (ERO #013-5033):

As a resident of Lanark Highlands and an engaged community member directly involved in responding to the proposed Highland Line Pit by Thomas Cavanagh Construction, I strongly oppose Bill 5 and urge the government to reconsider this regressive legislation. Our experience with the Highland Line Pit is a case in point, one that illustrates the dangerous trajectory Bill 5 would accelerate across Ontario.

Even before Bill 5 is passed, the aggregate industry is showing alarming boldness. The Highland Line proposal is an outrageous example of overreach, a below the water table pit in a highly sensitive ecological area, proposed without respect for community values, Indigenous rights, or environmental health. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), instead of drawing a clear line on what is unacceptable, has left the burden entirely on local residents and Indigenous communities to defend the land and water, at our own cost, with our limited time, and despite already funding these ministries through our taxes.

Bill 5 reads like a blueprint for weakening environmental protection and silencing those who have successfully defended Ontario’s natural heritage. Every time citizens or Indigenous nations find an effective way to protect the environment, the government rewrites the rules to benefit developers. This is not democratic, it’s destructive. It’s as though the government, like AI, is learning to close every loophole that communities use to protect what’s left of our shared ecological future.

Key elements of Bill 5, such as narrowing the definition of “habitat,” delaying species protections, introducing “pay to destroy” schemes, and weakening science based decision making, are nothing short of an attack on Ontario’s biodiversity. The inclusion of non scientists on critical decision making committees further politicizes the protection of species at risk and sets us back decades. Is that the provincial plan, to put us back to the 1950s regarding environmental protections? I very much would like an answer to this question.

The 2023 Auditor General’s report made it abundantly clear that Ontario’s oversight of aggregate development is already sloppy, ineffective, and failing to meet basic standards of environmental stewardship. Bill 5 doubles down on those failures. It signals to industry that even the pretense of environmental responsibility can be discarded.

Why does the MNRF exist if the defense of land and water rests solely on under resourced communities and Indigenous nations who, despite this systemic neglect, continue to lead the way in land protection? Perhaps the Ministry should begin consulting them more directly, rather than continuing to write legislation that prioritizes industrial convenience over ecological survival.

The introduction of the Special Economic Zones Act as part of Bill 5 is deeply alarming, particularly in the context of proposals like the Highland Line pit. This legislation would give the Ontario government unchecked power to exempt projects from environmental protections and municipal planning laws, without public consultation or legislative oversight. Short story is a so called democratic government will not have to follow any laws or bylaws. If passed, it could allow harmful developments to proceed with fewer barriers, even in ecologically sensitive areas. The Highland Line pit proposal already raises serious concerns about incompatible land use, threats to local waterways, and damage to the surrounding natural environment. The SEZA opens the door for even greater disregard for local planning, community voices, and ecological responsibility. It signals a shift away from transparent, rules-based governance toward a model that could favour politically connected proponents, putting places like Lanark Highlands at greater risk. Reading the proposed Special Economic Zones Act, I am genuinely stunned. It is hard to believe that in a democratic society, elected officials would put forward legislation that so completely disregards environmental protections and the voices of community members living near proposed developments. It feels like a form of hate speech directed at both the environment and the people who are working so hard to protect it.

We do not need more gravel pits. We need more courage from our leaders. Bill 5 is not about finding a common middle ground, it is about taking away the rules that protect nature. Instead of strengthening enforcement of existing regulations, this bill seeks to dismantle them. It erodes the very structures designed to protect Ontario’s unique biodiversity, and it must not proceed. Shame on you if it does.

Thank you