Bill 5, Protect Ontario by…

Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is a reckless and shortsighted bill. The proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act will wreak havoc on Ontario’s ecosystem. Redefining ‘habitat’ and removing ‘recovery’ for the ESA will lead to continued decline and extinction of Ontario’s wildlife. It is naive to think that drastically changing Ontario’s ecosystem will have little to no effect on the lives of Ontarians. Extinction and nature loss already threaten to increase illness, decrease water and air quality, hurt our ability to grow and gather food as well as deepen the impact of extreme weather events. Further, the protection of wetlands are critical to reduce the impact of flooding in urban areas. The GTA in particular historically experiences high levels of flooding. This bill would only increase the already high risk. Bill 5 makes environmental policies political, instead of scientific, silencing the voices of scientists and experts in the field and giving it to politicians who will likely have minimal, if any, background knowledge on these sensitive subjects.

Aside from the devastating and possible irreversible impact Bill 5 would have on our environment, it also gives unprecedented, unchecked power to the government. The proposed ability to create ‘Special Economic Zones’ is undemocratic. The possibility of law-free zones where provincial and municipal laws do not apply is a terrifying thought. Ontario is a democracy, not a dictatorship or authoritarian regime. On one front Doug Ford reprimands Donald Trump for tariffs on Canada and threats of annexation, and on another, Ford wages a war against Ontario using moves from Trump’s own playbook. The Ford government cannot be allowed to operate above the law. Existing Ontario labour law would not apply in these special economic zones, and that should be a major concern to every resident of Ontario, workers and their families alike. This bill threatens workers rights to health and safety, minimum wage, and employment protections. There is no requirement to notify the public, keep records or even let Ontarians sue if they are harmed. These zones would operate in legal and democratic darkness.

In addition, inside the ‘special economic zones’ a ‘trusted proponent’ can conduct business however they like, ignoring laws of the land as well. It is painfully obvious that developers and big businesses cannot be trusted to prioritize anything other than profits. The only thing these ‘trusted proponents’ will protect, is their bottom line. This will not make life affordable for Ontarians. We will not see any significant portion of these savings.

This bill is also a threat to indigenous communities as it would bypass duty to consult and infringe on constitutionally protected rights. This is not economic development, its executive overreach. It hands unchecked power to Ford’s cabinet, echoing authoritarian tactics, not democratic governance. Ontario is not for sale, unless it’s to Ford’s handpicked list of businesses and developers. Doug Ford has clearly learned nothing from the recent Greenbelt scandal and has no intention of changing his colours. Bill 5 is further proof that Doug Ford does not have the best interests of the province at heart.