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Urgent: May 17th Deadline to Submit Comments On Bill 5

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As you may know, the Ontario government is seeking to make sweeping, regressive amendments to provincial laws under Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025. This bill will have detrimental impacts on Indigenous rights, environmental health, wildlife protection, and our rights to participate in government decision-making. On top of that, Bill 5 makes it nearly impossible to bring a legal challenge against the government for anything “directly or indirectly” related to anything “done or not done” under the Act or future regulations, meaning that the provincial government will be shielded from public scrutiny and accountability.

For more information about Bill 5, check out our press release and the press release by the Friends of the Attawapiskat River, an Indigenous grassroots advocacy group dedicated to the protection of Treaty 9 lands and waters. For a more detailed analysis of the bill, you’re welcome to read our Legal Brief on Bill 5.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

As Bill 5 contains many environmentally harmful proposals, the proposals were required to be posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO), so that the public would have an opportunity to have a say.

You have the right to participate in government decision-making that may impact the environment.

The following proposals were posted on April 17, 2025, and the public comment period closes on May 17, 2025.

  • ERO No. 025-0380: Proposed interim changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and a proposal for the Species Conservation Act, 2025;
  • ERO No. 025-0396: Addressing Changes to the Eagle’s Nest Mine Project;
  • ERO No. 025-0389: Removing Environmental Assessment Requirements for the York1 Waste Disposal Site Project;
  • ERO No. 025-0416: Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025;
  • ERO No. 025-0418: Proposed Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act;
  • ERO No. 025-0409: Proposed amendments to the Mining Act 1990, Electricity Act 1998, and Ontario Energy Board Act 1998; and
  • ERO No. 025-0391: Special Economic Zones Act, 2025.

We encourage you to review the proposals and submit comments before May 17, 2025.

Need ideas on what to say?
LAND submitted comments on five of the proposals, outlining our concerns about the proposal and how it will negatively impact Indigenous rights and the environment, and asking the government to:

  1. Extend the public comment period, so more people can have their say;
  2. Meet the requirements of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, so the public’s environmental rights are upheld; and
  3. Reject the proposal and withdraw Bill 5.

You’re welcome to endorse our submissions when you send in your own comments, by copying and pasting the following links:

HERE’S WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO

  1. Take action against Bill 5 – Send a message to your MPP demanding its full withdrawal, and encourage your friends and family to do the same!
  2. Submit comments to the Standing Committee on the Interior, who is tasked with studying the bill before it can move forward. The deadline to submit comments is May 26, 2025
  3. Add your name to the Friends of the Attawapiskat River’s Protection Declaration, calling for the protection of their lands and waters from resource extraction
  4. Follow us on facebook and instagram (@naturesdefence) for updates on Bill 5, and share our posts with the hashtag #StopBill5, to raise awareness!
  5. Donate, to help us push back against Bill 5!
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