I am very concerned about…

I am very concerned about the environmental and legal implications of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025, which vague proposed legislation is a direct assault on the rule of law because it would enable the province to make regulations delineating zones in which “trusted proponents” or designated projects may not have to comply with existing provincial laws or municipal bylaws that otherwise apply to every individual and corporation.

Discretionary exemptions from protective legislation will likely result in the creation of “law-free” zones where environmental features, functions, and values will be sacrificed to profit the proponents.

The rationale for these and other changes in Bill 5 is Ontario’s environmental laws must be substantially amended to facilitate economic development and mitigate current tariff battles. This is not credible and has not been substantiated by the Ontario government.

Ontario’s environmental protections are not “red tape”, and that the province’s economic prosperity in the short- and long-term does not require removal of, or regressive changes to, or exemptions from, our bedrock environmental laws.

Bill 5, will weaken or eliminate legislative safeguards which protect the environment, human health, and Indigenous rights and I strongly oppose all ten schedules in Bill 5, and request the Ontario government to withdraw this unjustifiable attack on environmental law and the rule of law.