Opposition efforts to prevent Bill 5 from passing couldn’t overcome Doug Ford’s PCs majority
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have passed Bill 5, setting their controversial “special economic zones” legislation to become law in Ontario. Ford’s PCs voted on Wednesday to pass the legislation titled the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. The bill which includes the new Special Economic Zones Act, only awaits Ontario’s lieutenant-governor’s royal assent sign-off.
The law will give the provincial cabinet the power to designate “special economic zones” where it could then exempt specific projects and proponents, like companies, from any provincial laws, regulations and local bylaws. Being provincial legislation, the requirements of federal laws would still apply.
Bill 5 also creates another new law, the Species Conservation Act, which would replace Ontario’s Endangered Species Act at a future date decided by cabinet. Some activist organizations have warned that the new law weakens protections for endangered species.
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