Ford Government’s Bill 5 is its latest “Trump like” assault on the environment and democracy
by: Victor Doyle, RPP, MCIP
On April 17, 2025 the Ford Government quietly tabled the omnibus Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.
While the bill introduces some added authority to restrict foreign ownership/investment in government procurement of things like electricity generation and mining claims/mines, the guts of the bill are:
-a full-on attack on vulnerable species; and
-a new authoritarian “override power” of all environmental and other provincial/municipal laws.
The bill continues the Ford administrations’ dismantling of our democratic rights and disenfranchisement of duly elected municipal politicians/councils.
Bill 5 is alarmingly similar to President Trump’s modus operandi – demeaning, dismantling, or simply overriding environmental protection and democratic frameworks to facilitate corporate profiteering.
Continued Assault on the Environment
The bill repeals the Endangered Species Act and replaces it with the weak-kneed and absurdly constructed Species Conservation Act.
Incomprehensibly, the bill removes reference to species “habitat” such that potential protection is only offered to the exact location of the plant or animal – completely ignoring the fact that all species need and depend on the surrounding “habitat” to breed, hunt, forage, access water, migrate and interact.
And even this highly weakened protection is only “potential”. The Purpose of the Act now tempers the protection by saying “taking into account economic considerations and sustainable economic growth in Ontario”. It reintroduces the economy over environment lens that has been thoroughly debunked over the decades as environmentally sustainable development has been proven to be the most strategic path forward.
Moreover, while still allowing any species to be removed as part of any development or infrastructure proposal – there is no longer any requirement to provide financial or other natural regeneration compensation to make amends. Worse, the identification of endangered species is now left completely to the whims of an individual Minister while, unbelievably, any species can be removed provided it is not the “last” individual of that species.
Authoritarian Override of Democratic Rights and Duly Elected Municipal Politicians/Councils
Bill 5 introduces the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act. Once a SEZ is identified, the proposed Act would allow the government to exempt a proposal (eg. mining or infrastructure) from ALL provincial laws (eg. environmental, planning, public health) as well as ANY municipal by-laws. This includes all and any requirements for notice, consultation and appeals at either level.
It will literally create a “law free zone” where the Government can permit anything, anywhere, anytime, with any developer/company it wishes, without any public or municipal involvement/oversight and any requirement to meet any existing laws in Ontario – including, apparently, the rights of First Nations.
Ontarians should be deeply concerned by the Government’s proposed actions.
Since first elected in 2018 the Ford administrations have been systematically dismantling two generations of environmental protection and land use planning laws and policies that were globally recognized – while simultaneously stripping citizens of their democratic rights of notice, consultation and appeal, and overriding municipal councils decision-making powers.
The Government has further used its powers in authoritarian ways to engage in secretive deals with developers/companies. It suspended/by-passed environmental laws, while silencing municipal councils and citizens. In some cases it actually had the audacity to pass new laws saying the old laws don’t apply in order to defend against citizen led court challenges.
One needs to look no further than the Greenbelt and Ontario Place - Therme Spa. The Auditor General concluded that Therme and the Greenbelt developers were given “special access” and “preferential treatment”, that the processes were not “fair, reasonable, transparent, or accountable”, that due diligence by the civil service was absent or woefully lacking – including by political direction, all costing or resulting in the loss of billions of taxpayer dollars and windfall profits for the developers/companies. Bill 5 actually continues this pattern by exempting Ontario Place from the last vestiges of the Environmental Bill of Rights that applied (ie. citizens ability to challenge the proposal).
This dismal, improper and irresponsible pattern of Government behaviour sets the stage for potentially inappropriate deal making on steroids if the Special Economic Zones Act is passed.
A recent CBC article likened SEZs to the type of Executive Orders emanating from President Trump and/or the type of dictatorial methods of China in pushing infrastructure and resource development.
Surely, these are not the models we should be emulating nor are they the models we need in Ontario. We have the ability to ensure environmentally and economically viable resource and infrastructure development in a timely way while allowing public, municipal and Indigenous involvement without turning to a lawless state characterized by secret deals between private companies and the Ontario Government.
It is extremely disconcerting and ironic that Premier Ford is emulating President Trump’s approach to shred environmental laws, public participation and transparent governance by passing yet another bill that does these things – all under the pretense of protecting Ontario from the type of dictates that the President is engaging in.
Indeed, there is no evidence endangered species and due process are preventing mining and infrastructure projects – and if improvements are needed make them, don’t create a lawless, undemocratic black hole. The only thing Bill 5 is unleashing is another assault on Ontario’s cherished environment and democracy and potential windfalls for select private companies.
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Victor Doyle is a registered professional planner. From 1988-2017 Victor held a variety of senior positions in the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing including Lead Planner of the Greenbelt Plan and – from 2002-2010 - Manager of Provincial Planning for Central Ontario. He is now engaged in advocacy, education and awareness raising initiatives related to planning and housing.
