Bill 5 will be an…

Bill 5 will be an unmitigated disaster for the future of Ontario.

Bill 5 will exempt companies from any sort of accountability by letting them work in "special economic zones" where they can ignore regulations. Regulations exist for a reason; they exist because of the real harm that will happen in their absence. These "special economic zones" are just asking for companies to destroy these areas without any accountability. The government claims that they are restoring "sense and sanity" to regulations, but removing these regulations is madness. It seems that the government views any regulations that protect Ontario and its futures as needless red tape.

Bill 5 will gut the Endangered Species Act putting Ontario's species at risk. Once these species are gone, they are gone, and weakening their protections is asking for their extinction. Letting cabinet the power to decide what species should be protected instead of a committee of experts lets endangered species classifications be wielded as a political tool and changed when it is politically convenient. It removes the obligations of the government to create recovery strategies, letting the government do nothing with no accountability.

Bill 5 also is exempting Eagle’s Nest Mine Project and York1 Waste Disposal Site Project from environmental reviews. This, along with eroding safeguards in the Mining Act, shows that the government would rather care about getting things build quickly rather than protecting the communities around these projects. Ensuring the health of Ontario's communities and the environment is not optional. Removing these reviews and safeguards is asking for Ontarians' health to be put at risk.

Bill 5 also removes accountability by shielding the government and projects in special economic zones from lawsuits. Legal action is essential to ensuring accountability. The government putting in these blanket protections should concern everyone, as it appears the government believes that there will be lawsuits as a result of Bill 5, and it wants to protect itself from all accountability instead of defending its actions in court.

Bill 5 is also putting Indigenous communities at risk while removing them from the conversation. Bill 5 has no mechanism that will ensure Indigenous communities are consulted while removing the review processes where First Nations communities are able to participate. Furthermore, the "special economic zones" are going to be placed on First Nations land and near their communities, putting them at risk from the damage that will be done from the lack of regulations and protections in these zones.

Bill 5 will only remove protections and accountability that help protect Ontario and its environment all so companies can increase their bottom line. We cannot be asked to sacrifice our land, water, wildlife and health just so companies can do whatever they want.