Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, will give the Ontario government the authority to make regulations designating “special economic zones”.
These “special economic zones,” will exempt selected projects from requirements under any provincial law or regulation, including bylaws of municipalities and local boards, that would otherwise apply.
The Bill will therefore make changes to the Endangered Species Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Mining Act, the Ontario Energy Board Act, the Ontario Heritage Act and the Species Conservation Act.
Essentially the Bill will speed up approvals for mining projects and end environmental assessments for controversial projects like the garbage dump expansion in Dresden, Ontario. It will replace Ontario’s Endangered Species Act with legislation that offers far weaker protections and will exempt projects from archeological assessment requirements.
The Bill would enable the government to identify any location in Ontario as a special economic zone and then exempt any company or project in the zone from having to comply with whichever provincial laws, provincial regulations or municipal bylaws the government chooses.
No other Canadian province has a mechanism that allows the government to let a corporation or project be exempt from existing laws.
Bill 5 gives the government full authority to dictate who is, and who is not, governed by law in Ontario. This is a direct attack on our democracy, on the environment, Indigenous sovereignty, community rights, workers’ rights, and municipal bylaws.
Please take a moment to write to your local MPP and Premier Ford and express your opposition with Bill 5.
In Solidarity,
Craig Reynolds, PSAC Ontario Regional Executive Vice-President