I’m writing to discuss the…

I’m writing to discuss the potential passing of Bill 5 into law.

This legislation is alarming and holds the potential to establish a marketplace for corruption in our province. It leaves me wondering two important questions:

How, and by what criteria, will exemptions be established?

Who will ensure that they are not doled out to friends or supporters of the government?

The problem with Bill 5 is that it will establish a system in which a few benefit and others do not, violating the principle of procedural fairness - the idea that we are all entitled to the same treatment from our government, regardless of our beliefs or political affiliations.

While the government ensures that these measures will only be used in special cases, it will create an opening whereby assessments are not universal. This would allow virtually any proponent in these industries to come seeking an exemption.

Secondly, it is alarming from an Indigenous allyship perspective.

Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes their right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites.

The land-use planning process in Ontario has always had an uneasy relationship with the Indigenous community and with their constitutional treaty rights. In the Provincial Policy Statements, the province has acknowledged those treaty rights for over a decade, while simultaneously refusing to fully integrate them into the planning process. Bill 5 makes this situation much, much worse.

I urge you to stop the signing of Bill 5. It is your role to help protect the province and cities in which we live and that includes our natural and built heritage.