On behalf of Greenpeace Canada, Stephen Hazell recently provided a submission to the Standing Committee on the Interior on Ontario Bill 5. In it, he urges the Standing Committee on the Interior to reject the Bill in its entirety, as it represents a severe threat to nature conservation in Ontario.
The submission outlines several key concerns with the Bill, particularly with Special Economic Zones 2025 Act (schedule 9), which would authorize the Ontario cabinet to create “special economic zones”. Given the poorly defined description of the zones and how they function, they offer an easy avenue for resource and industrial development to get around environmental protection laws.
The submission also raises concerns about weakened environmental protection in several other sections of the Bill, including: Ontario Heritage Act (Schedule 7), Endangered Species Act (Schedule 2) and Species Conservation Act 2025 (Schedule 10), Environmental Assessment Act (Schedule 3), and Electricity Act 1998 (Schedule 1).
You can read the full submission here.