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WCS Canada Comment: Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 (Standing Committee on the Interior)

O'Connor, C., Farrell, C., Kirkwood, A., Palmer, L., Ray, J. & Southee, M.

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WCS Canada's comments on Ontario's Bill 5 to the Standing Committee on the Interior.

Key points

We recommend that Bill 5, including Schedules 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10, are withdrawn.

Our overarching concern is that the proposals outlined in Bill 5 and Schedules 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10 will have serious negative impacts for ecosystems and people in Ontario and these proposals, collectively, are not in the public good. Approval of this Bill and these Schedules will see consolidation of power to the Province and negative impacts on the environment, Indigenous Rights and the overall democratic process.

We stress the following specific concerns about the five Schedules:

1. Schedule 2, proposed repeal of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Schedule 10, proposed Species Conservation Act (SCA): The proposed interim changes to the ESA (Schedule 2), and its eventual repeal and replacement by the SCA (Schedule 10), would make species protections so extraordinarily weak that the proposed new Act would be effectively meaningless.
2. Schedule 5, proposed changes to the Mining Act: The proposed changes are ambiguous around how the Mining Lands Administration System would be controlled and how mineral claims, leases and licenses of occupation could be arbitrarily terminated, posing the risk that there would be reduced transparency for mineral exploration and exacerbation of existing issues with the mineral claims system, including lack of consultation with Indigenous Peoples.
3. Schedule 7, proposed amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act: The proposed amendments would create a serious risk for archeological sites that may no longer be assessed prior to developments.
4. Schedule 9, proposed Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act: The proposed Act that lacks any stated purpose or conditions and the Special Economic Zones that it would enable is a blatant endorsement of the Province’s support for fast-tracking the interests of select "trusted proponents" and projects that it unilaterally designates through exemptions to all existing laws. This is also likely to see multiple instances of severe negative impacts to Indigenous Rights and interests.

Recommended citation

O'Connor, C., Farrell, C., Kirkwood, A., Palmer, L., Ray, J. & Southee, M. (2025). WCS Canada Comment: Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 (Standing Committee on the Interior). Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://wcscanada.org/resources/wcs-canada-comment-protect-ontario-by-unleashing-our-economy-act-2025-standing-committee-on-the-interior/