I am writing to strongly…

I am writing to strongly oppose Bill 5: the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act and its dangerous proposals, including the creation of Special Economic Zones, the weakening of Ontario’s endangered species protections, and the exemption of the Eagle’s Nest mine from an environmental review.

Bill 5 would give the government extreme new powers to ignore laws that protect the public health, Indigenous rights, Ontario's long term economic health, and environment without accountability. This is unacceptable and short sighted.

Relative to ERO 025-0391. Giving the government power to designate areas that are "critical" to Ontario’s economy and security cannot be justified ethically or economically. Robust economies result from strategic, long term planning and investment - by planning for what is needed in 20 years and creating stability and certainty that convinces business that Ontario is a good long term investment. In contrast, building faster with simplified requirements is a race to the bottom. The failure to consider public comments and robust reviews undermines the credibility of this government, increases risk to public health, and increase Ontario’s long-term costs and liability by ignoring the voices impacted by projects.

Claiming this Act will "mitigate the impact of trade disruptions, and ensure the long-term prosperity and security of the economy" is disingenuous. This Act focuses on expected short-term financial benefits and the government does not appear to have considered the long-term costs and benefits (for that matter the government does not appear to have considered the short term costs). What more trade disruptions do not abrogate the government's legal and ethical responsibilities to protect the people of Ontario now and into the future. At best the rationale for this exemption is short sighted political theatre. At worst it is a repeat of the Greenbelt Scandal mired in conflict of interest.