Repeal Bill 5 and restore endangered species protections

Ontario's Bill 5 guts the province’s Endangered Species Protections Act, stomps on Indigenous Rights and gives the government unheard powers to exempt hand-picked developers and corporations from provincial and municipal laws.

What you can do?

Write today to your MPP and Todd McCarthey, the Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks. Feel free to use the points to consider below! (Please do not leave the box blank).

Why this matters

This blatant power grab opens the door to runaway corruption and unchecked development with no consent, no environmental rules and no accountability.

Points to consider for your letter:

Feel free to cut and paste the points below in your letter
Do not leave the box empty or your email will be blank!

  • I am writing to urge you to support the repeal of Bill 5: the so-called Unleashing Our Economy Act. This legislation is a violation of the rule of law, democracy and Indigenous Rights and will unleash environmental degradation throughout the province.
  • Bill 5 decimates environmental safeguards for land, water and air and grants cabinet unchecked power in “special economic zones.” This is deeply undemocratic and the opposite of protecting Ontarians, especially in the midst of twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. 
  • The legislation abandons protections for endangered species and will accelerate habitat destruction, lead to extinctions and violate federal commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. 
  • A 2021 Auditor General’s report identified many ways in which the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks was failing to achieve its mandate to protect and recover species at risk. One main failing was a proliferation of exemptions for industry and development to harm species at risk. The new “Species Protection Act” introduced in Bill 5 exacerbates these failures by reducing habitat protections, removing the need for permits and the development of recovery plans and giving power to the Minister to override the scientific decisions of the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario. 
  • Bill 5 also violates Indigenous Rights in its failure to incorporate the requirement of Indigenous consent prior to project approvals. As a result, First Nations have already commenced a court challenge to strike down Bill 5 in its entirety.  
  • Short-term profits for hand-picked “trusted proponents” shouldn’t be prioritized over the long-term public good, future generations and protections for the most vulnerable species.  
  • Please act now to support the repeal of Bill 5 and restore and strengthen protections for species at risk.
Points to consider for your letter:

Feel free to cut and paste the points below in your letter
Do not leave the box empty or your email will be blank!

  • I am writing to urge you to support the repeal of Bill 5: the so-called Unleashing Our Economy Act. This legislation is a violation of the rule of law, democracy and Indigenous Rights and will unleash environmental degradation throughout the province.
  • Bill 5 decimates environmental safeguards for land, water and air and grants cabinet unchecked power in “special economic zones.” This is deeply undemocratic and the opposite of protecting Ontarians, especially in the midst of twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. 
  • The legislation abandons protections for endangered species and will accelerate habitat destruction, lead to extinctions and violate federal commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. 
  • A 2021 Auditor General’s report identified many ways in which the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks was failing to achieve its mandate to protect and recover species at risk. One main failing was a proliferation of exemptions for industry and development to harm species at risk. The new “Species Protection Act” introduced in Bill 5 exacerbates these failures by reducing habitat protections, removing the need for permits and the development of recovery plans and giving power to the Minister to override the scientific decisions of the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario. 
  • Bill 5 also violates Indigenous Rights in its failure to incorporate the requirement of Indigenous consent prior to project approvals. As a result, First Nations have already commenced a court challenge to strike down Bill 5 in its entirety.  
  • Short-term profits for hand-picked “trusted proponents” shouldn’t be prioritized over the long-term public good, future generations and protections for the most vulnerable species.  
  • Please act now to support the repeal of Bill 5 and restore and strengthen protections for species at risk.