The omnibus Bill 5 is the biggest threat not only to the environment, but to citizen rights, Indigenous rights and the democratic process, that I have seen in Ontario in my lifetime. Ecojustice offers a good summary in this video. Environmental Defence has a good breakdown here.
Please write your MPP (in Collingwood, this is Brian Saunderson) and express your disapproval. Our voices have never been more greatly needed. https://briansaundersonmpp.ca/
Highly undemocratic
The first issue with Bill 5 is that it would run roughshod over existing legislation, thoughtfully and carefully created over many years to ensure that Ontarians have a healthy, biodiverse environment that does not prioritize all of our encroachment activities over the rights of the natural world to exist and thrive; that Ontarians have a say in what the government and private enterprise do; and that indigenous groups have a right to a say about what happens on their own land.
It would give the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade power to designate Special Economic Zones at his sole discretion which, among other things, allow him to “identify which regulations, permits, processes, approvals, and similar requirements will be exempted, altered or continue to apply”. In other words, close to complete carte blanche in terms of zoning compliance, environmental impact, pollution, noise, ground water usage/contamination, etc. This legislation is exceedingly poorly planned and makes a mockery of existing laws. It is undemocratic; it smacks of authoritarianism.
Absence of science-based decisionmaking
The second issue, specifically with the Endangered Species Act, 2007 is that it puts decisions regarding natural habitat, including that of endangered species, in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats who do not have a background in ecology, natural sciences, etc. So the wrong people would be making important, long-lasting decisions that they are not qualified to make… on behalf of Ontarians. It abnegates the government’s long-term responsibility to ensure that current and especially future generations of Ontarians do not suffer from irreparable and entirely avoidable harm to land, water, wildlife and human health caused by poorly planned and controlled construction, extraction and other profit-making activities. For example, habitat protections would be limited to a species’ immediate dwelling place (den, nest, etc.) but not the surrounding forests or wetlands needed for food. Survivability in this scenario is very low.
The wolves would guard the flock
The third issue with the proposed legislation is that it puts adherence to what protective regulations remain in the hands of development, mining and other companies who do not have a compelling reason to comply; quite the contrary. Compliance would rest more firmly in the hands of construction firms and extractive industries; they would largely be self-policing. Does this work well? A good parallel is the Ontario aggregate industry, which is also ‘self-policing’. Last year’s Auditor General’s report found that compliance oversight and enforcement of regulations surrounding aggregate extraction were severely under-resourced, with only 34 inspectors for the entire province. The result, according to the report, was a loss of control over aggregate-extraction activities: over 65% of aggregate sites had not been inspected in the past five years and less than 1% of violations were referred for enforcement. Some operators exceeded extraction limits by over 1,000% without investigation or penalties.
We can expect the same from ‘voluntary’ protection measures that Bill 5 recommends. In summary, Bill 5 puts at risk our democratic processes, citizen rights, aboriginal rights, our right to a healthy, clean environment, and the rights of our descendants to inherit an Ontario that is clean, biodiverse, healthy and attractive. It goes against the best interests of the majority, in favour of very few—companies, by and large, and not citizens. Citizens are those who the government is bound serve and to answer to.