Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Bill 5 is a way to fast-track mining in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire region.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
Environmental advocates are warning specific elements in a controversial government bill will cause irrevocable harm to species and ecosystems across Ontario if it becomes law.
Committee hearings on Bill 5 began last week when Indigenous leaders were among those who voiced their opposition to a provision in the legislation that allows for the creation of “special economic zones” where existing regulations can be sidestepped to permit projects to move forward at the will of cabinet.
The omnibus bill would replace Ontario’s existing Endangered Species Act with new legislation that biologists say would significantly reduce protections for species at risk. As hearings resumed on Monday, conservation authorities and advocacy groups were set to detail their concerns.
“It’s hard to see much of a future for conservation in Ontario,” if the bill proceeds as written, said Laura Bowman, a lawyer with the environmental organization Ecojustice Canada, who appeared before MPPs on Monday.
Premier Doug Ford has touted the legislation as a way to fast-track mining in the Ring of Fire, a region in northern Ontario where the government says untapped stores of critical minerals could fortify the province’s economy in response to tariffs and threats from the United States.
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The bill “maintains strong environmental protections while eliminating red tape and improving enforcement,” said Alex Catherwood, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
Opponents of the bill say this approach creates a false dichotomy that pits nature against progress. Instead, they argue, environmental protection should be seen as an essential component in creating long term prosperity.
“Protecting endangered species – that’s not red tape. That’s an essential safeguard for a society,” said Tony Morris, conservation policy and campaigns director for Ontario Nature, who also presented on Monday.
In the unfolding debate over the bill, environmental advocates have stressed that Ontario has a long history of robust protections and the ability to develop resources without gutting species rules.
“We could take a lot of pride in producing resources in this country, and I think we have the opportunity to produce them in ways that are different to other parts of the world,” said Dalal Hanna, a professor of conservation science at Carleton University. “And yet we’re not leaning into that by making this kind of bill.”
When it was passed in 2007, Ontario‘s Endangered Species Act was considered a leading example of conservation policy that other provinces could seek to emulate.
The changes proposed in Bill 5, along with the Ford government’s recent legacy of promoting development-first legislation, have significantly diminished that reputation.
“I would say this puts Ontario in the bottom third” of the provinces for environmental protections, said Joseph Bennett, also a professor at Carleton University, who recently led a comparative study of provincial species regulation.
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Among the many changes proposed in Bill 5 is the redefinition of the term “habitat.” Where the previous Act defined a habitat as any area that a species relies on, the new definition is limited to the dwelling place of the species: its den, sleeping area, or roots and the area immediately surrounding it.
Morgan Piczak, a post-doctoral researcher at Dalhousie University, likens the new legislation to protecting someone’s bedroom but not their kitchen or the hallway between them.
“What good is it to have a kitchen if you can‘t get to it?” Dr. Piczak said.
Also removed from the legislation is any mention of species recovery, which environmentalists say was a strength of the previous act. Without the goal of recovery, species may be stuck at the brink of extinction, with no legal incentives to bring them back.
“The government is essentially giving up on the idea that species recovery is possible,” said Mr. Morris, with Ontario Nature.
Under the current policy, any activities that might harm an endangered species require a permit from the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Bill 5 introduces a registration system that grants anybody permission to destroy habitat or the species themselves, so long as the activity is registered with the Ministry.
“If you wanted to bulldoze the den and shoot the animal, all you have to do is file a form,” said Ms. Bowman, with Ecojustice Canada. “You could have situations where the last viable population is being wiped out by filing a form online.”