Overview

Premier Doug Ford’s Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act is about to unleash a suite of laws that are dangerous, and threaten Ontario’s environment, endangered species, and Indigenous rights. If passed, these laws, such as the proposed Bill 5, would leave dozens of Ontario’s most at-risk species — including Caribou, Barn Owl, and Eastern Wolf — with little to no meaningful protection against the powers of a small population of the province’s wealthiest developers.

Here are the main threats from Ford’s new plans:

  1. “Special Economic Zones Act, 2025” could let hand-picked corporations ignore ANY law — including environmental rules, safety standards, and local planning bylaws.
  2. Endangered Species Act repealed and replaced with Species Conservation Act, 2025; a shell law, giving developers an easy path to harm vulnerable wildlife without strong oversight or science-based decision-making.
  3. Eagle’s Nest Mine could move forward in the fragile Ring of Fire without a full environmental assessment — violating promises made to First Nations and threatening vital peatlands that help fight climate change.

Ford is giving himself unchecked power, rolling back hard-won protections, and pushing Ontario in the wrong direction.

We can still stop this — but we need your voice.

Until May 17th, Ontario will hear public comments pertaining to the bill. We have less than one month to push back against this bill through public consultation.